Jeong Cheong-rae: "Ahn's Seoul Mayoral Run, Dropping Weight Class and Repeated Losing Streak"

Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is applauding at the inaugural general meeting of the National Assembly Cultural Contents Forum held on the morning of July 8 at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] On the 21st, Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, for declaring his candidacy for Seoul mayor by comparing him to boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, saying, "I have never seen a successful athlete move down in weight class."

On the same day, Jeong said on his Facebook, "The legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino boxing hero who became the first in the world to conquer eight weight classes by moving up in weight class.

And Ahn Cheol-soo, once an icon of new politics, who is suffering consecutive defeats by moving down in weight class."

He continued, "He says he will participate in the Seoul mayor title match, but his agency is ambiguous and I’m worried about his fight money," adding, "If his vote share is below 15%, he might even have to pay the participation fee."

Jeong said, "I have yet to see a successful athlete who moved down in weight class," and added, "I have never seen a case where a member of the National Assembly loses and then runs for city council, or a city council member loses and then runs for district council." He also pointed out, "If you keep entering unwinnable matches, your body will be damaged and your soul destroyed," and suggested, "How about some self-objectification?"

Earlier, on the 10th of last month, on tbs radio’s 'Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory,' Jeong also said about Ahn, "If he were a boxer, he would be continuously lowering his weight class," adding, "Usually, boxers move up in weight class to conquer titles. It is rare to move down. I think he is in a very bad political state."

On the 20th, Ahn declared his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election scheduled for April next year at a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Hall. On that day, Ahn said, "I will proudly run as the citizen candidate of Seoul and the unified opposition candidate to act as a driving force to stop the reckless ruling power," and added, "No matter what difficulties arise, I will run to the end to block the reckless and lawless dominance of the Moon Jae-in government and the ruling party."

Additionally, Ahn said, "I hope you understand the background of my decision to give up the presidential election and run for Seoul mayor," indicating that he will not run in the 2022 presidential election.

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