Jo Eung-cheon "Shocked by Seobok-gyeong's remarks... Is it brave or ignorant?"

Cho Eung-cheon, a Democratic Party lawmaker from the Non-Myeong faction, criticized Seo Bok-gyeong, a member of the Innovation Committee leading the Democratic Party's reform, after Seo recently appeared on a radio show and responded to the host's remark that there is criticism of the innovation being 'to protect Lee Jae-myung' by saying, "I don't think that's a wrong thought," calling it "shocking."

On the 25th, on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' Rep. Cho said, "What on earth is this? Is it bravery or ignorance?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Last week on SBS Radio, Committee member Seo said, "Since Representative Lee Jae-myung was lawfully elected according to the party's rules and regulations, the only way to replace him is impeachment," implying that the innovation plan is premised on maintaining the current leadership. When asked if this was an innovation to protect Lee Jae-myung, Seo replied, "I don't think that's a wrong thought," sparking controversy.

Rep. Cho said, "(The Innovation Committee) seems to mistake itself for an ethics tribunal," adding, "Is the Innovation Committee trying to create a sanctuary? I don't really trust them, and it's hard to agree with their direction."

He continued, "The full name of the Innovation Committee is 'Kim Eun-kyung Innovation Committee to Restore Public Trust and Prepare for the Future,' and said, "We first need to examine why public trust has left our party, and whether it is because of the current leadership or something else, we must reveal the causes as they are and propose solutions to prepare for the future." He expressed disagreement with the Innovation Committee's direction, which is premised on maintaining the leadership.

Responding to the host's question whether the party's problems are because of Representative Lee, Rep. Cho said, "The biggest problems in our party right now are hypocrisy, money envelopes, and loss of morality represented by Kim Nam-guk, and then the loss of diversity, fandom politics, and the crisis of intra-party democracy. These two issues," he said, "Did these really arise after Representative Lee? I don't think so. There were numerous warning signs during the five years of the Moon administration, but they were ignored, leading to the presidential election defeat."

Regarding rumors that the Innovation Committee might revise the nomination rules, such as banning running for a third term in the same district, he said, "There was already a nomination task force (TF) led by Lee Gye-ho, which finalized the special party rules for the 22nd general election nominations. That is the rule, so is it really possible to completely overturn it?" He added, "I don't think that will happen."

He also pointed out that the Innovation Committee shares the same perspective as the pro-Myeong faction. He said, "When Chairwoman Kim Eun-kyung was first appointed and held a press conference, one thing she said stuck in my mind: 'Incumbent lawmakers are vested interests.' This is exactly the same view as the hardline pro-Myeong faction," adding, "In my view, the real vested interests are the current mainstream faction that, despite the party's difficulties and the clear causes, completely ignores them and continues to focus only on political strife."

Regarding the expulsion issue of Rep. Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party amid controversy over large-scale cryptocurrency transactions, he said, "It's not a matter of whether expulsion is possible, but that he must be expelled. If not, how can we ask the public for votes in the general election?" He added, "If we don't, and I were in the People Power Party, I would criticize the Democratic Party as a party that is indifferent even when cryptocurrency trading happens in standing committees."

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