Jo Eung-cheon "The Problem is the Democratic Party... Fundamental Reform through Reflection is the Only Way"

"Criticism for Approaching Election with Groundless Confidence"

Cho Eung-cheon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Jo Eung-cheon, a lawmaker appointed as a member of the Democratic Party's Emergency Response Committee, stated on the 13th, "The fundamental cause of losing the administration to the forces that stepped down due to impeachment after five years must be diagnosed, and only through a thorough reflection and fundamental reform, which we have not done until now, can our party approach the people again."

On the same day, Jo posted a message titled 'Acceptance Statement of the Emergency Response Committee Position' on his Facebook, saying, "It is a difficult task, but I will try to fulfill this role properly in the Emergency Response Committee. I will show the results. It will be tough, but please do not lose hope until the end."

He began by saying, "Yesterday, I received a request from Emergency Response Committee Chairman Yoon Ho-jung to serve as a committee member. I hesitated a lot because of the title of co-head of the defeated election campaign's joint situation room, but I ultimately accepted."

He continued, "In February 2016, when I first entered politics, which was then a subject of disregard and criticism for me, I strongly declared that I would stand in the center to innovate the Democratic Party, revive politics, and contribute even a little to saving the Republic of Korea. I believe this is the path that aligns with that declaration."

Jo also said, "In this 20th presidential election, the people gave us excessive support despite our many shortcomings," and evaluated, "Especially thanks to candidate Lee Jae-myung's outstanding capabilities, we were able to reach an ultra-close contest despite many flaws in our Democratic Party."

He particularly pointed out, "Ultimately, the problem was our Democratic Party," and criticized, "Throughout the presidential election period, we never overcame the theory of regime change."

Jo stated, "Over the past five years, through incidents such as the Cho Kuk scandal, the Seocho-dong protests, sexual harassment cases involving city and provincial governors, the Yoon Mee-hyang case suspected of privatizing the public value of comfort women grandmothers, and the satellite party scandal involving changing positions, our party's morality and fairness were severely damaged. However, an internal party culture that does not tolerate rebuttals was established, and each time these issues were covered up by strong factional logic, leading the Democratic Party to be perceived as neither reformist nor moral anymore."

He added, "Even though fundamental problems such as arrogance, incompetence, and double standards were blatantly exposed during last year's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, we did not reflect on them, and without reflection, there was even less reform."

He further said, "In this presidential election as well, the people told us, 'You are neither fair nor seem to pursue the public interest, so we cannot entrust you with the administration anymore.' However, we entered the election with an unfounded confidence that people would choose us because we are still more competent than the opposition, and naturally, we struggled throughout the campaign, overwhelmed by the strong tide of regime change."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party announced the Emergency Response Committee lineup on the same day, appointing Park Ji-hyun, a former activist of the 'Nth Room Tracking Team Bulkkot,' as co-chairwoman along with the female committee vice-chairwoman.

The Democratic Party's Emergency Response Committee includes Jo Eung-cheon, Kim Tae-jin, a young entrepreneur and former co-chairman of the Gwangju election campaign, Kwon Ji-woong, director of the Mindalpaengi Cooperative, former lawmakers Chae Yi-bae and Bae Jae-jung, and lawmaker Lee So-young, among others.

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