Jung Sung-ho: "'Lee Jae-myung's time is running out' remark is inappropriate"

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min said, "There is not much time left for Representative Lee Jae-myung," and in response, pro-Lee (친명) Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Seong-ho criticized this as "undesirable."

On the 17th, Jeong said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "The time given to Representative Lee is a two-year term. That period is granted by our party members, and it is undesirable for lawmakers to say that the term is almost over," expressing this view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This was a rebuttal to Kim's remarks on BBS radio the previous day, where he pointed out issues with Lee's leadership and implied that Lee's time was running out. Jeong added, "Lawmaker Kim's opinion is also very important. He often offers harsh but correct criticism to the party, and I would really appreciate it if he actively presents concrete and realistic alternatives for the party's innovation and change." He continued, "In any case, the majority of lawmakers believe that in the current situation, we need to support Representative Lee to overcome the crisis."

Regarding the discussions within the party about responsibility and calls for resignation related to 'Lee Jae-myung's leadership,' Jeong said, "Those are opinions of some lawmakers. There are about 167 Democratic Party lawmakers now, and the majority believe that when the party faces such a crisis, we should still unite around the party leadership to resolve the issue. To overcome the crisis, the majority opinion is to empower and unite behind the leadership."

At the same time, he warned against a 'leniency perspective,' saying, "Instead of blaming why only the Democratic Party is held to higher moral standards, we should look inward with higher moral standards and ensure things are done properly."

Within the ruling party, there are suspicions raised about whether Representative Lee, who is embroiled in 'judicial risks,' can impose harsh standards on other lawmakers. In response, Jeong said, "On the contrary, if he himself faces such risks, being stricter is his way to survive." He added, "Some may criticize, 'Why are the standards for you different from those for other lawmakers?' but when discussing Lee's judicial risks, the risks seen at the prosecution investigation stage and those at the trial stage are completely different."

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