Jeju Party Chairman: "Na Kyung-won Uses Public Office for Personal Politics"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Heo Yong-jin, chairman of the People Power Party Jeju Provincial Committee, who caused a stir by canceling a special lecture for party members by Na Kyung-won, Vice Chairman of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee and Climate Ambassador, directly criticized Vice Chairman Na, saying, "She used her public office for three months for personal politics."

On the 11th, Heo said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The fundamental reason for (Vice Chairman Na's) approval rating is naturally because it rose by aligning with the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's actions," adding this.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He pointed out that Vice Chairman Na's number one approval rating within the party is clearly influenced by holding a public office. He said, "There is definitely a possibility that it (approval rating) is affected," and added, "If so, it only means she used the public office for three months for her personal politics, and from that perspective, her (running for party leader) seems quite inappropriate."

He also mentioned that critical opinions are emerging among party members. Heo said, "She received considerable help in approval ratings by using her public office, but abandoning that and running again for party leader has drawn quite a bit of criticism," and added, "There are many skeptical reactions about whether approval ratings actually translate into votes."

Vice Chairman Na was scheduled to attend a special lecture event for Jeju Provincial Committee party members on the 10th, but the event was canceled amid discord with the Presidential Office. Heo was the person who decided to cancel the event. He said, "I could not help but judge whether a person at the center of controversy is suitable as an instructor for our party member education," and added, "I judged that it was somewhat inappropriate while the controversy had not settled, so I decided to cancel it."

He further criticized Vice Chairman Na's conduct, saying, "Although I can understand her intention to challenge party leadership without stepping down from her public office, she went further by publicly announcing unconfirmed policies to the media, showing a stance opposing government policies, which caused confusion among the public."

Regarding Vice Chairman Na's recent resignation from the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, he said, "It is hard to understand logically that a public official resigns from only one of two roles held by the same person while keeping the other," and added, "(She) should naturally resign from the Climate Ambassador position as well."

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