Jo Eung-cheon "The party is not a community center, you can't just come and go as you please"

YTN Radio Interview, Criticism of Congressman Kim Nam-guk
"Leadership's Delayed Response... Deepening Image of Leniency"

Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Kim Nam-guk, who left the party amid allegations of holding and investing in large amounts of cryptocurrency, for saying he is "temporarily leaving the Democratic Party," saying, "He says he will come back, but this is not a community center where you can come and go whenever you want."

In an interview with YTN Radio's "News King Park Ji-hoon" on the 16th, Cho said about Kim's remarks, "I wonder why even I am like this. I don't know what kind of decision that is. If it is a decision to avoid further investigation, I would agree," he said.

Regarding the internal atmosphere of the party, Cho pointed out the leadership's slow response to the situation, saying, "The view that (the current leadership is not capable) is very widespread."

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

He said, "Whenever a major scandal occurs, the parties involved usually deny everything, claiming 'prosecutorial fabrication' or 'opposition party oppression.' The problem is that the leadership responds slowly," adding, "Meanwhile, public opinion worsens to the boiling point, and the party fails to take proper measures, leading to a cycle where the involved members leave the party. This happened during the money envelope scandal and also with Kim's cryptocurrency allegations."

He continued, "When public opinion worsens without the party taking proactive and active measures, members inevitably leave the party, so the leadership is too complacent. The Democratic Party is seen as lenient, only protecting its own, and the image of double standards is deepening," adding, "There are even talks now that there are problems with the party leader's leadership and political judgment."

Regarding media reports that at the parliamentary members' meeting on the 14th there was a demand to refer Kim to the National Assembly Ethics Committee but that Representative Lee opposed it and the resolution omitted this content, Cho said, "I do not know the exact facts whether that content was omitted due to Representative Lee's claim."

However, he added, "At that time, most members agreed that it was possible to refer to the Ethics Committee, but when the resolution was announced, it was omitted," and "I continue to feel that the party leadership's attitude is quite lukewarm."

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