Party Affiliation Controversy Choi Ji-eun "Recommender's Name Is Former Hannara Party District Mayor Candidate... Unauthorized Use"

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 shared 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 "14th Economic Development Plan Support Project." Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Choi Ji-eun, the international spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, who said she was unknowingly registered as a member of the United Future Party, revealed, "A Mr. Kim, whom I did not know at all, was listed as the recommender, and upon checking, it turned out to be the name of a preliminary candidate for a district mayor in Seoul from the Hannara Party (now United Future Party) during the 2010 local elections."

In a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 29th, Spokesperson Choi said, "The United Future Party side said there was no membership application form, only the recommender's name, and when the Democratic Party checked, it was the same name as the Hannara Party candidate at that time. While we cannot completely rule out the possibility of a namesake, since it is the name of a district mayor candidate in the area where I am supposedly registered, I strongly suspect that my name was used without permission for the purpose of the primary election."

The time when Spokesperson Choi was reportedly registered on paper with the Hannara Party was February 2010, and the local elections were held in June of that year.

Spokesperson Choi discovered that she had United Future Party membership when she tried to register as a candidate for the Bukgangseo-eul district in Busan for the general election in April. She was only able to register as a Democratic Party candidate after urgently withdrawing her membership. When this fact was revealed as a dual membership suspicion on the 21st, Spokesperson Choi stated in a press release, "In 2010, I was in North Africa and did not even have a mobile phone registered under my name in Korea. The recommender is someone I do not know at all, and above all, my thoughts differ greatly from those of the Hannara Party."

In a phone interview with Asia Economy, Spokesperson Choi said, "Although it is a past issue, it was a serious matter that almost prevented me from registering as a candidate. Although I lost the election, I am considering legal action if necessary to avoid misunderstandings."

She also confirmed the post under the name "Democratic Party members and voters supporting Bukgangseo-eul," which raised the dual membership suspicion online. Spokesperson Kim said, "The person who posted it was not even a member of the Democratic Party," and added, "The Democratic Party has verified the facts and is expected to take action."

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