Jo Eung-cheon "Jeong Cheong-rae, who opposes the Buddhist community, needs to voluntarily decide to leave the party"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] On the 20th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, insisted that Jeong Cheong-rae, a party member who has sparked backlash from the Buddhist community, should voluntarily leave the party.

In an interview with CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ that morning, Cho said, “Honestly, there are many lawmakers around me whom I wish would voluntarily leave the party, though I cannot say it out loud.”

He also rhetorically asked, “When else is it a time that requires putting the party before personal interests like now?”

In response to the host’s question, “Isn’t Jeong showing his love for the Democratic Party?” Cho replied, “Isn’t there a saying that sometimes love means parting?” When asked, “Do you think such a decision is necessary now?” he said, “Personally, I think so.”

He added, “There may be many grievances, but this is one of the demands from the Buddhist community,” and continued, “It must be very painful and embarrassing for one person to be publicly singled out and repeatedly told to resign.”

On the 18th, Jeong stated on Facebook, “A close aide to Lee Jae-myung (Lee Jae-myung’s core associate) came and asked if I would voluntarily leave the party because the Buddhist community is uneasy,” and said, “I refused to leave.” Jeong drew backlash from the Buddhist community after likening temple admission fees to tolls and comparing it to ‘Bongyi Kim Seon-dal’ (a legendary Korean trickster).

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