Jo Kyung-tae Attending Mapo Forum: "Kim Jong-in Is Irresponsible... Joo Ho-young Is Just Wasting Time"

On April 29 last year, Kyoongtae Cho, a member of the People Power Party, after a closed Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Rep. Cho Kyung-tae of the People Power Party expressed dissatisfaction toward the leadership regarding the party representative election and the merger with the People’s Party.

At the regular seminar of the People Power Party’s external group "Towards a Better World" (Mapo Forum) held on the 15th, Rep. Cho, who was the first speaker, criticized former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in, who has been continuously targeting the party with harsh remarks even after leaving office, saying, "What did Chairman Kim properly accomplish as the emergency committee chairman? He left without even setting the schedule for the party convention upon his resignation. It’s truly irresponsible."

He pointed out, "Party members should be given the right to elect the new leadership," adding, "Even at the event a year ago where Chairman Kim was endorsed, the opinions of party members were not properly consulted. I suggested asking the party members’ opinions at that time, but it was ignored."

Regarding questions about Kim’s possible return, he replied, "It is highly unlikely that he will come back. He himself said he would not."

He also addressed some first-term lawmakers’ claims to have the representative election decided 100% by public opinion, stating, "That disregards the party constitution. It’s probably the first time our party has been so stingy in asking for party members’ opinions," emphasizing, "Without granting rights, what are party members, machines? The party convention should instill pride in the party members."

Meanwhile, Rep. Cho expressed dissatisfaction with Acting Representative Joo Ho-young, saying, "He keeps delaying things." He said, "I spoke with Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, yesterday. What Ahn said was different from what Acting Rep. Joo said," adding, "It seems the People Power Party has not yet finalized matters related to the merger. He said, 'Start by merging within the People Power Party first and then present a unified opinion.' It seemed he was worried that the merger atmosphere is still immature."

He continued, "Leader Ahn does not seem to want a simple, mechanical party-to-party merger. He hopes for a merger that can provide an emotional impact that meets the public’s expectations," and criticized, "Realistically, I got the impression that it is difficult to expect this from the members of our party’s acting leadership."

He added, "The People’s Party is checking the opinions of its party members, but our party is completely unaware," and said, "Rather than a few lawmakers in our party deciding whether to do it or not, I think it is more democratic to ask the party members as soon as possible, even through ARS mobile voting this weekend."

He went on, "The presidential election is not far away, so our party must show predictability in the path it will take," emphasizing, "It is important to set the schedule for the party convention accurately. The Democratic Party will already have a new leadership formed on May 2. We must hurry to hold the party convention by early June, or at the latest by mid-June."

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