Controversy Over Dual Party Membership of Ruling Party Recruit Choi Ji-eun: "Never Submitted Membership Application... Recommender Is Unknown Person"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Choi Ji-eun, the international spokesperson recruited by the Democratic Party of Korea for the April 15 general election, addressed allegations that she held membership in the United Future Party for over 10 years, stating, “I never submitted a membership application, but it was registered. The recommender is someone I do not know.”

Choi Ji-eun, the 9th recruit of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the welcoming ceremony held at the National Assembly on the 16th and expressed her thoughts on joining the party. Choi is an international economic expert serving as a senior economist in charge of China at the World Bank, leading the "China Fiscal Modernization Project" and the "Support Project for the Establishment of the 14th Economic Development Plan." Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

On the 21st, Spokesperson Choi released a statement saying, “I have never joined the Hannara Party (now the United Future Party). In 2010, the time they claim I joined, I was in Tunisia, North Africa. Above all, my views differ from those of the Hannara Party.”

She added, “After calling the United Future Party’s Busan city branch to check, I found that I was registered as a general member who never paid party dues. The person named Kim, who is said to be the recommender, is someone I do not know at all.” She continued, “I asked if there were any documents submitted when joining the party, but the United Future Party responded that they could not find any membership application.” She further stated, “In 2010, I did not have a mobile phone registered under my name in Korea. I have submitted all records of calls with the election commission, the United Future Party, and immigration documents to the Democratic Party’s Busan city branch.”

Regarding the story that she resigned after the Busan Election Commission discovered her United Future Party membership, she said, “On March 25, the election commission called me and said that I was registered with the Hannara Party’s Seoul city branch as of February 2010, so I needed to resign to register as a candidate.” She explained, “The election commission apologized for the delay in confirming with the United Future Party and said that even if I had not joined, resignation was necessary for candidate registration, so I submitted my resignation for that purpose.”

Spokesperson Choi emphasized, “I will further investigate how the membership occurred without my knowledge or awareness of the source of the post, and take appropriate measures if necessary.”

A Busan Election Commission official told Asia Economy in a phone interview, “There are cases where party memberships unknown to the individual are discovered during the candidate registration process.”

On the 19th, a group named “Members and Voters of Bukgangseo-eul Supporting the Democratic Party” issued a statement claiming, “Spokesperson Choi was revealed to be a responsible member of the United Future Party,” and asserted, “It was confirmed that she joined the Hannara Party’s Seoul city branch in February 2010. Party dues were withdrawn for 10 years until March 2020 from a phone registered under the candidate’s name used by her mother.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.