The Democratic Party cancels Jeong Woo-taek's nomination over 'money envelope suspicion'... Seo Seung-woo strategically nominated for Cheongju Sangdang District

The People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee has decided to cancel the nomination of Representative Jeong Woo-taek of Sangdang District, Cheongju City, Chungbuk Province, who was embroiled in allegations of accepting money envelopes. Former Chungbuk Deputy Governor Seo Seung-woo has been strategically nominated for the relevant electoral district.

Interview_Jung Woo-taek, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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On the afternoon of the 14th, Jeong Young-hwan, chairman of the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee, stated at a briefing at the central party office in Yeouido, "The Nomination Committee has resolved to cancel the nomination of Representative Jeong, whose nomination for Sangdang District, Cheongju City, was confirmed through a primary election," adding, "Former Deputy Governor Seo will be strategically nominated for the district." He also explained, "Unfortunate circumstances regarding Representative Jeong have continued," and "We judged this matter does not meet the standards of public expectations and morality emphasized by the People Power Party."

Representative Jeong was embroiled in bribery allegations after a video surfaced last month showing him receiving a money envelope from a businessman A in the Chungbuk region. Representative Jeong explained that he returned the money and accounted for it as an official donation. Additionally, he filed lawsuits against the journalist who first reported the story and an unidentified informant. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said, "Representative Jeong was nominated without competition, but wasn't the scene of exchanging money envelopes clearly captured on CCTV?" was also sued for false information disclosure under the Public Official Election Act, as he was not nominated without competition.

The People Power Party's Nomination Committee appears to have decided to cancel the nomination after a recording was released in the media the day before, in which Representative Jeong's aide pressured Mr. A to "interview saying the money was returned." Jang Dong-hyuk, Secretary-General of the People Power Party, told reporters that morning, "As you know, the phone call content reported was partially edited and some parts were omitted," but added, "We will review the entire recording and see if there is any connection with the candidate."

The People Power Party's Nomination Committee decided to strategically nominate former Deputy Governor Seo, who ran in Cheongwon District, Cheongju City, instead of candidate Yoon Gap-geun, who competed in the primary against Representative Jeong. Chairman Jeong said, "We judged that nominating candidate Yoon was not appropriate," and "Due to other circumstances, we believed he would lack competitiveness."

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