Geum Tae-seop, "Woo Sang-ho Shows How Rigid the Democratic Party Is"

It’s Not a Good Attitude to Say We Don’t Get Along Because We’re Opposition or Anti-Moon

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who is running for the Seoul mayoral by-election, criticized the dispute between former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun and Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho surrounding him, saying it "shows how rigid the Democratic Party is."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 4th, Geum appeared on YTN Radio’s ‘Hwang Bo-seon’s Start New Morning’ and expressed disappointment at Park and Woo, saying, “I was disappointed to see the two candidates fighting over who is the ‘original pro-Moon Jae-in faction’ to appeal to the party’s hardline supporters like this,” and added, “I hope they engage in reasonable discussions on policies and show the kind of candidate Seoul citizens want.”

On the 2nd, former Minister Park said on MBC Radio that Geum “should be embraced and moved forward with.” In response, on the 3rd, Woo criticized on SNS, saying, “I think the groups we should embrace and unite with are the Open Democratic Party, the Justice Party, and the Transition Korea party, which are part of the broader progressive camp,” and added, “I hope candidate Park Young-sun retracts this statement.”

Regarding Park’s remark, Geum said, “The phrase ‘should be embraced and moved forward with’ is a bit strange, but I understood it as a call for dialogue,” and stated, “I believe not only with candidate Park Young-sun but also across party lines, we should meet and have conversations.”

On Woo’s rebuttal to Park’s words, Geum said, “It seems they view me as an opposition candidate and ‘anti-Moon,’ so they think we don’t get along.” He added, “Criticizing someone just because their position is different shows how rigid the Democratic Party is,” and pointed out, “This is not a commendable attitude for politicians of the ruling party.”

When asked if he decided to run for Seoul mayor when he left the Democratic Party, Geum said, “I didn’t leave to run, but I was dissatisfied with the Democratic Party’s factionalism and camp logic,” and added, “I declared my candidacy because I believe rational and fair leadership is necessary for people’s livelihoods.”

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