Woo Sang-ho on Controversy Over Party Convention Rules: "Difference in Views, Not a Communication Issue... Can Be Revised by the Party Affairs Committee"

Possibility of Amendments Left Open at Party Affairs Committee
Kim Geon-hee's Acquaintance in Charge of Escorting Says "National Discipline Issue"

Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, rebutted the controversy within the party over the 'party convention rules,' saying, "It was a difference of opinion, not a communication problem."

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 6th, when asked if "Ahn Kyu-baek, the former preparatory committee chairman, resigned because the decision was changed without communication," Woo said, "How could that be? There were conversations with the emergency committee members while drinking the night before," he explained.

He continued, "The emergency committee members actually requested the preparatory committee to reflect these issues. However, the emergency committee did not thoroughly review it on Monday, and the preparatory committee made the decision based on what they had discussed."

He added, "The emergency committee made revisions, and the revisions made by the emergency committee can also be amended today at the party affairs committee meeting," opening the possibility of changes by saying, "When there are differences of opinion, the party affairs committee can mediate or broadly accept one side's opinion."

Earlier, the preparatory committee adopted a plan to increase the reflection ratio of public opinion polls in the party leader and supreme council member elections (introducing a 30% preliminary primary and expanding the main primary to 25%). However, the emergency committee held a closed meeting immediately afterward, nullified the adjustment plan, and decided to apply 100% central committee voting as before. They also proposed a method to strengthen regional representation by allowing one of the two votes in the supreme council member election to be cast for a candidate running within the region.

Regarding internal criticism of unfairness, Woo refuted by saying, "There is no 'Woo Sang-ho plan.' I play the role of listening to the majority opinion and making decisions. What greed would I have?"

On the regional voting plan for supreme council members, he also said, "There is a valid criticism that the system is too coercive, so today at the party affairs committee, we will leave it open and discuss it."

Regarding the qualification of former co-emergency committee chair Park Ji-hyun to run for party leader, he said, "If the interpretation of the emergency committee's decision is needed, I will ask the party affairs committee members for their opinions today," but added, "Overall, I think there will be various difficulties regarding the six-month clause for elected officials."

On the same day, Woo strongly criticized the fact that the wife of Lee Won-mo, Personnel Secretary of the Presidential Office, accompanied First Lady Kim Keon-hee on her trip to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit. He pointed out, "This is a very serious issue," adding, "The wife of a country's president registered an acquaintance as an official aide instead of an official aide and accompanied her while conducting state affairs. Isn't this a matter concerning national discipline?" He emphasized, "This is a serious issue that should be questioned in the National Assembly."

Regarding the recent controversy over President Yoon Seok-yeol's door-stepping remark on the 5th ("Have you ever seen such an excellent person among ministers of the previous administration?"), Woo said, "I hope he remembers that he himself was a high-ranking official appointed by the previous government," and added, "Wouldn't it be more presidential to take more responsibility, thoroughly check whether there are any problems with his appointments, and give instructions accordingly?"

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