Jung Woo-taek "I will run and achieve good results... High possibility of primary election"

Jeong Woo-taek, a member of the People Power Party who was elected in the recent by-election in Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, is giving a greeting speech at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Ahead of the election for the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly scheduled for the 25th, Jeong Woo-taek, one of the longest-serving members within the People Power Party, expressed his intention to run, saying, "I will run and aim for a good result."

On the 19th, Jeong said on BBS Radio's Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal, "Given the various responses from different regions, I have to decide to run," expressing his intention.

In this Deputy Speaker election, three five-term lawmakers?Jeong Woo-taek, Seo Byung-soo, and Kim Young-sun?are considered strong candidates. Jeong said, "There are six five-term lawmakers in our party, including myself, and about three of us are currently being mentioned," adding, "I believe they are people with rich parliamentary experience and political acumen, and as the person who started legislative activities first, I will try to run well this time and achieve a good result."

Some speculate that this Deputy Speaker election might be by acclamation rather than a contest. Regarding this, Jeong said, "There is a high possibility of a contest."

Regarding the recent poll on the preferred next leader of the People Power Party, where former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min is leading, Jeong said, "I don't think the poll results will directly translate into the party convention outcome," explaining, "Because we don't know which candidates might emerge or how the political landscape might change."

On the criticism that Yoo's high approval rating might be due to 'reverse voting,' Jeong said, "That is a sufficiently possible interpretation," adding, "If Yoo cannot escape the 'traitor' frame, it will be difficult for him to be optimistic at the party convention." It is also pointed out that this is why Yoo lost to current Public Relations Secretary Kim Eun-hye in the June gubernatorial primary in Gyeonggi Province, which was conducted with a 50:50 ratio of party members and general public polling.

Regarding former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who is currently ranked first in 'party sentiment' and was appointed as Vice Chair of the Presidential Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society but still leaves room to run for party leader, Jeong said, "If she thinks she has a chance of winning by running, she can certainly run for party leader," but added, "There may be various restrictions because she holds such a position."

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