Democrats say to Yoon defending Jeong Ho-young, "Losing public support while trying to save a friend"

Park Yongjin "People Power Party and Yoon Seokyeol Have No Right to Mention Former Minister Cho Kuk"
Goh Minjeong "Investigation Needed to Determine Legality of Candidate Jeong's Allegations"

Health and Welfare Minister nominee Jeong Ho-young is holding a press conference to clarify allegations related to preferential treatment for his child's transfer admission to medical school and military service corruption on the 17th at the auditorium of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] The Democratic Party of Korea urged President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol to withdraw the nomination of Jeong Ho-young, the candidate for Minister of Health and Welfare, saying, "Trying to save a friend will lose public support."

When President-elect Yoon's side compared candidate Jeong to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, stating, "It is a very important issue whether many suspicions against candidate Jeong amount to illegal acts comparable to the Cho Kuk incident," they strongly criticized this as hypocrisy.

Representative Park Yong-jin said on Facebook, "Other than being a longtime friend of President-elect Yoon for forty years, there is no reason for candidate Jeong to become Minister of Health and Welfare."

Representative Park pointed to controversies surrounding candidate Jeong, including verbal abuse scandals and allegations of preferential treatment for his children’s medical school transfers, and said, "Isn't the reason the public supported President-elect Yoon because of the Cho Kuk incident, where fairness and common sense were trampled by 'Dad’s chance'?"

He added, "If President-elect Yoon were currently the Prosecutor General amid these suspicions, he would have searched candidate Jeong’s residence and Kyungpook National University," and declared, "The People Power Party and President-elect Yoon’s side have no right to mention Cho Kuk."

Furthermore, he urged, "Trying to save a friend will lose public support. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish; withdraw candidate Jeong’s nomination."

Representative Jeon Yong-gi also criticized on Facebook, "If candidate Jeong Ho-young does not step down himself, President-elect Yoon should take responsibility, but now he is defending him."

He seemed to have former Minister Cho Kuk in mind, saying, "Whether there is illegality in the Jeong candidate case or not, conduct investigations and searches first as was done then," and added, "Then apply the same standards for administrative measures and degree cancellations as were applied to Cho Kuk at that time."

He also said, "Now the person under suspicion is President-elect Yoon’s friend of 40 years," and snapped, "If there is this much disconnect even before the term starts, after the term begins it will be 'obviously obvious'."

Representative Go Min-jung shared an article on her Facebook that included President-elect Yoon’s position that candidate Jeong is different from former Minister Cho Kuk.

She added, addressing President-elect Yoon, "You speak as if you were a judge. An investigation is necessary to determine whether there is illegality."

Meanwhile, candidate Jeong emphasized at a press conference held the same day at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, that there were no unjust acts regarding the various suspicions surrounding him.

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