One-Place Gathering of Ruling Party's 9 Dragons... Lee Jae-myung Says "Building Anti-Lee Jae-myung Front Is a Natural Thing"

Democratic Party 'Pledge Ceremony for Fair Elections'
"Fully Understandable Ways to Consider Competition"
Lee Nak-yeon "Seeing What Yoon Is Doing Now, Candidate Choo Mi-ae Must Have Had a Hard Time as Minister"

Nine candidates who have completed registration as preliminary presidential candidates for the Democratic Party of Korea attended the Fair Election and Gender Equality Pledge Ceremony and National Interview Press Day held at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul on the 1st, shouting "Fighting" with the party leadership. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] "Candidate Park Yongjin, in an era where there is surplus money to invest, will increasing investment just to reduce corporate tax really work?" (Lee Jae-myung)

"Watching former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, I have gained a better understanding of candidate Chu Mi-ae. She must have had a hard time during her tenure as minister." (Lee Nak-yeon)

Nine presidential candidates from the Democratic Party of Korea gathered in one place. On the 1st, the Democratic Party held a ‘Pledge for Fair Election’ ceremony and a press day inviting journalists at the Glad Hotel in Seoul. Party leader Song Young-gil emphasized in his greeting, "Today is the day we greet the sovereign people with the heart of a job seeker," and added, "We will strengthen our competitiveness in the main election by taking tough questions like a vaccine."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Yong-jin attended the pledge ceremony for fair elections and the pre-event press day held at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul on the 1st, shaking hands and taking a commemorative photo together. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

During the event, the candidates participated in a ‘You, come out’ program where they pointed at each other to criticize or ask questions. Lee Jae-myung, the Gyeonggi Province governor considered the ‘number one’ in terms of approval ratings, addressed the so-called ‘anti-Lee Jae-myung front’ within the pro-Moon Jae-in camp by saying, "The method can include alliances and cooperation among candidates, and I think it’s a very natural thing. I would like to try forming an alliance if possible, but it’s not easy," and added, "It’s a method that can be fully taken into account in competition. It’s understandable." He then called out the youngest candidate, Representative Park Yongjin, to question the feasibility of the pledges Park proposed. In response, Park said to Lee, "I will complete generational change that transcends factional and old-style politics. In that process, I will shake up Korea with a two-way race against you."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province, famous for the ‘potato sellout,’ handed out potatoes with nicknames he gave to the candidates, wishing for their ‘sellout’ success. He gave former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun the nickname ‘Smile Potato,’ Representative Park ‘New Potato,’ and Lee Jae-myung ‘Cider Potato.’

During the Q&A session with journalists, sharp questions were raised about the party expulsion of Representative Yang Hyang-ja, who has recently been embroiled in controversy over ‘sexual misconduct allegations at a regional office.’ Representative Park said, "It is right for the leadership to make a bold decision and expel her," raising his voice, "We set the standards for high-ranking official hearings. Since she failed to respond to trust, it leads to distrust." Representative Kim Doo-kwan also urged, "I urge the party to take firm action regarding Representative Yang’s expulsion."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

When asked, "What do you think about criticism that former Minister Chu’s candidacy will revive the ‘Chu-Yoon conflict (Chu Mi-ae vs. Yoon Seok-yeol)’?" former Minister Chu replied, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon’s direct jump to the presidential race was a challenge to the democratic constitution," and added, "It’s not a ‘Chu-Yoon conflict,’ but rather that Yoon himself was unfit as a prosecutor general and that his direct jump to the presidential race was undesirable (which people have realized)."

Regarding Representative Park, a question was raised, "How do you respond to criticism that with your pledges to cut corporate and income taxes, you have become a ‘Samsung protector’ rather than a ‘Samsung sniper’?" Park responded, "Park Yongjin was originally a Samsung protector. Which lawmaker would agree to the illegalities and unfair practices of the Samsung family? However, Samsung Electronics is a national company and an important point of growth," and added, "Yesterday I visited Samsung Electronics, and today I will visit small and medium-sized enterprises."

When asked, "The Cho Kuk incident has been re-examined as a cause of the by-election defeat. What do you think?" all candidates unanimously said, "It’s not the Cho Kuk incident but the Yoon Seok-yeol incident." Governor Choi criticized, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon organized the prosecution and conducted overwhelming investigations. He should not have run for president," and Representative Yang said, "The judicial outcome has been decided. Now Yoon must take responsibility before the people," raising his voice. Representative Lee also emphasized, "Yoon’s investigation was to kill his rivals in the presidential election. It proves why prosecutorial reform is necessary."

All nine candidates registered for the preliminary race, including Song Young-gil, Lee Jae-myung, Lee Nak-yeon, Chu Mi-ae, Chung Sye-kyun, Park Yongjin, Choi Moon-soon, Kim Doo-kwan, Yang Seung-jo, and Lee Kwang-jae, attended the event along with the party leadership.

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