Jung Jin-suk: "Hard to Accept Calls for Cutoff... Fairness Needed with Other Candidates"

Nomination Committee Chair: "We Will Not Go Against the Will of the People and Party Members"

Former Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jinseok commented on May 4 regarding the critical opinions within his party about his candidacy in the upcoming parliamentary by-election, saying, "It is truly difficult to accept arguments that I should not even be allowed to participate in the candidate primary," and added, "Consideration should be given to fairness with other nominees associated with President Yoon Suk Yeol."

Jeong Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, is giving a greeting at the full meeting of the Steering Committee held at the National Assembly on the 1st. This Steering Committee meeting was the first attendance of President's Office aides, including Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, since the opening of the 22nd National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On his Facebook page that day, Jeong stated, "The group that should share joint responsibility for the fall of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is the ruling party and its leadership." Jeong has previously announced his candidacy for the parliamentary by-election to be held on June 3 in the Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang districts of South Chungcheong Province.

Within the party, there are opinions that it is inappropriate for Jeong, who served as Chief of Staff during the 12·3 Martial Law, to run in this by-election. Kim Taeheum, Governor of South Chungcheong Province, aggressively responded by delaying his registration as a preliminary candidate for the local election. Park Deokheum, Chairman of the Nomination Management Committee, stepped in to calm the situation as it spread, stating, "The party leadership will not choose decisions that go against the will of the people and party members."

Regarding the arguments within the party about his moral responsibility, Jeong said, "A person (Choo Kyungho, Daegu mayoral candidate) who was indicted for involvement in major insurrection-related work was selected as the party's metropolitan mayoral candidate," and questioned, "Was there anyone who objected to this nomination? Shouldn't there be principles when it comes to party nominations?"

Jeong continued, "Turning a blind eye to the current situation and pretending not to know would have been the easiest path for me," but added, "The reason I made the difficult decision to run was a final sense of responsibility to do something for the conservatives of this country, who are now facing an existential crisis."

Jeong also said, "Representative Jang Donghyuk eliminated the candidates who ranked first and second in the Daegu mayoral poll, and yesterday, he visited Daegu and bowed his head. After committing something that should never have been done, how much can a passing, offhand apology change the hearts of the people of Daegu? The same thing could happen in the Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang by-elections."

Jeong further stated, "If Jeong Jinseok is cut off and someone more to Representative Jang's liking is installed, do you think we can win the election? Is our party so relaxed that we can afford to hand over even a single National Assembly seat to the Democratic Party?" He added, "Not even allowing me to participate in the primary is disrespectful to those who support our party. I will listen to opinions inside and outside the party, as well as those of the local residents. And I will wait for the party's decision."

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