Lee Nak-yeon Side Mentions 'Choo Resignation', Choo Mi-ae Camp Reacts Angrily: "Not an Ounce of Courtesy"

On the afternoon of the 19th, at the Gwangju MBC Public Hall in Nam-gu, Gwangju, Choo Mi-ae, a preliminary candidate, is speaking at the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate debate. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The campaign team of former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, has pushed back against the camp of former party leader Lee Nak-yeon, which mentioned the possibility of Choo’s withdrawal, saying, "There is not even a speck of courtesy to be found."

Earlier on the 28th, Lee’s camp held a press conference demanding the convening of a party affairs committee regarding the party’s election management committee’s decision to invalidate votes for candidates who withdrew from the presidential primary.

On that day, Lee’s campaign spokesperson Lee Byung-hoon said, "Assemblyman Kim Doo-kwan withdrew, but despite raising issues during former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun’s withdrawal, nothing was corrected," adding, "There is no guarantee that former Minister Choo will not withdraw in the future. We should not play on a tilted field. We want a fair primary, and this is a matter of legal interpretation."

In response, on the same day, Choo’s camp issued a statement directly attacking Lee Nak-yeon’s camp, saying, "Attacking an opposing candidate by imposing the possibility of withdrawal during the primary is unprecedented in the history of democracy and constitutional governance since Dangun, and is an utterly unacceptable and despicable act."

They continued, "No long words are needed. We sternly urge former leader Lee to immediately dismiss the spokesperson and for Lee and his camp to bow their heads and apologize to former Minister Choo and her supporters," emphasizing, "We clearly state that any subsequent corresponding measures will be entirely the responsibility of former leader Lee and his camp."

As the backlash grew, Lee Nak-yeon’s camp moved to manage the situation. On the same day, the spokesperson posted on his social media, saying, "There was absolutely no intention to insult candidate Choo or her supporters," and "The remarks came out in the process of emphasizing that the invalidation of votes could pose a risk to our party. Please accept my apology, and I ask former Minister Choo to join us in a beautiful primary until the very end."

On the afternoon of the 19th, Lee Nak-yeon, a preliminary candidate, is speaking at the Democratic Party presidential candidate debate held at the Gwangju MBC Public Hall in Nam-gu, Gwangju. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the demand by Lee Nak-yeon’s camp to convene the party affairs committee on that day was a reaction to the election management committee’s decision on the 15th to invalidate votes for candidates who withdrew midway. According to the committee’s decision, the past votes of former Prime Minister Chung and Assemblyman Kim, who withdrew midway, were excluded from the total valid votes, which raised the cumulative vote percentage of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, causing concern.

In fact, as a result of the first Super Week of the Democratic Party, which concluded on the 12th, due to former Prime Minister Chung’s withdrawal, Governor Lee’s vote count (285,856 votes) was adjusted from 51.41% to 53.70%. Even after Assemblyman Kim’s withdrawal on the 26th, Governor Lee’s vote percentage in the Honam region rose from 49.7% to 50.10%, successfully achieving a majority.

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