Jo Eung-cheon: "Protect Do Jong-hwan and the first-term lawmakers who have been targeted and criticized"

On the 14th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged Do Jong-hwan, the emergency response committee chairman of the Democratic Party, to protect first-term lawmakers who are being heavily criticized.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] On the 14th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged Do Jong-hwan, the emergency committee chairman, to "not tolerate violent acts that block reform and to protect the majority of party members and conscientious young lawmakers from a small group of hardline supporters."

In a post titled "Will we stand by and watch violent words and actions blocking party reform?" posted on his Facebook on the same day, Cho said, "The statement released yesterday under the name of 'All Democratic Party Rights Holders' seems intended to intimidate the newly elected lawmakers who have spoken out with rough and unrefined language."

Cho added, "Our party’s mainstream forces still seem to reject change and focus more on so-called 'reform' rather than public sentiment, which is honestly difficult," and stated, "Especially the issue of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, which has become a taboo or sacred topic in our party, seems likely to act as an Achilles' heel that will continue to hold us back, much like the 'impeachment' of conservative parties a few years ago."

He further pointed out, "If the word 'ungrateful' in the statement and the premise that one could not become a member of the National Assembly without being part of some hardline supporters who actively support former Minister Cho Kuk are implied, it is truly an arrogant and archaic way of thinking."

He lamented, "It is also true that there are quite a few people within the party who support such statements," adding, "Some celebrities exposed the phone numbers of five newly elected lawmakers, pinpointed them, and urged others to attack them. Lawmakers with weak resilience are recoiling and gradually closing their mouths."

He then urged party reform, saying, "The public looks down on our party, and even though the opposition looks suspicious in March next year, they will likely confess that they had no choice but to vote for the opposition’s presidential candidate to punish our party, which remains exasperating."

Earlier, on the 9th, five newly elected Democratic Party lawmakers issued a statement reflecting on the Cho Kuk incident. In response, Democratic Party rights holders on the 13th criticized them, saying, "The newly elected lawmakers showed ungrateful behavior by issuing a trash statement full of distortions and errors that blamed the Blue House and former Minister Cho Kuk for the defeat in the April 7 by-election."

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