Appointment of Special Reporter Joo Ki-hwan... Blatant Displeasure vs. Honor Restoration Perspective

Joo Ki-hwan, Who Withdrew After Being Pushed Down on Proportional List
Appointed as 'Presidential Livelihood Special Advisor'
Seok Dong-hyun Runs as No. 2 Proportional Candidate for Liberty Unification Party

Tensions continue between the party and the government after the People Power Party’s satellite proportional representation party, Kukmin-ui Mirae, announced its list of proportional representation candidates. A day after former People Power Party Gwangju City Party Chairman Ju Gi-hwan was excluded from the final proportional representation list, he was appointed as a presidential special advisor on public welfare, leading to evaluations that President Yoon Seok-yeol expressed "blatant displeasure" toward Chairman Han. Some interpret this as a move to "restore the honor of former Chairman Ju."

The Blue House appointed former Chairman Ju as a presidential special advisor on public welfare on the 21st. Ju is known as a longtime prosecutor investigator and a 20-year acquaintance of President Yoon. The Blue House reportedly appointed Ju to assist in identifying public welfare tasks and checking follow-up measures from public welfare forums.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is seen on the 21st at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul presenting the presidential appointment letter for the Special Presidential Advisor on Public Welfare to Joo Ki-hwan, former chairman of the People Power Party's Gwangju City Committee, and then guiding him to the reception room. 2024.3.21 [Photo by Presidential Office Press Photographers] [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, this move has been interpreted as revealing President Yoon’s discomfort with the proportional representation appointments, given that former Chairman Ju had previously applied for Kukmin-ui Mirae’s proportional representation nomination but was placed at number 24, outside the winning range, and subsequently withdrew his candidacy. Earlier, pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction lawmaker Lee Cheol-gyu publicly disclosed that he recommended former Chairman Ju and others to Chairman Han when demanding revisions to the list, citing neglect of Honam and exclusion of party officials. Nevertheless, former Chairman Ju’s name was absent from the second proportional representation list announced by Kukmin-ui Mirae on the night of the 20th. A ruling party official said, "The Blue House is very angry about the fact that there was no communication with Chairman Han regarding the proportional list," adding, "They are so upset that they think if we win this election, Chairman Han will only be given good tasks."

Some see this as a step toward resolving the conflict and have moved to ease tensions. Since the proportional representation candidates were appointed mainly from the youth, appointments from Honam inevitably had to be delayed, and the president appointed former Chairman Ju as a special advisor to compensate for this. Kim Kyung-jin, a People Power Party candidate for Seoul Dongdaemun and a former member of the 'In Yohan Innovation Committee,' appeared on BBS Radio that day and said, "In the case of former Chairman Ju, he showed an unusually high vote share in the last local election, so perhaps this can be understood as assigning him an appropriate role and restoring his honor." Kim Sung-tae, co-chairman of the People Power Party’s Seoul regional campaign committee, also said on YTN Radio, "Especially in the Honam region, it is urgent to convey the livelihood issues of ordinary people directly and without distortion to the president’s administration from the grassroots level," adding, "It seems the appointment was made with the expectation that former Chairman Ju will fulfill such a role."

Meanwhile, Seok Dong-hyun, a lawyer known as a 40-year acquaintance of President Yoon, plans to run as number 2 on the proportional representation list for the Liberty Unification Party led by Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon. Lawyer Seok had challenged the People Power Party primary for Seoul Songpa Gap but was cut off from the nomination (cutoff).

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