Democratic Party Leadership Officially Apologizes for 'Won Jong-geon Incident' on the Morning of the 29th
Lee Hae-chan: "We Will Meet the Expectations of the People"
Lee In-young: "We Apologize for Not Being Careful and Thorough"
[Asia Economy reporters Wondara and Jeon Jinyoung] The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea officially apologized for the 'Won Jong-geon incident,' saying, "We apologize for causing concern to the public." This official apology from the Democratic Party leadership came about 24 hours after Won Jong-geon, the party's second recruitment talent for the general election, announced that he would "return his status as a recruited talent."
Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 29th, "There was an unfortunate incident yesterday where one of the recruited talents resigned," adding, "As the chairman of the talent recruitment committee, I sincerely apologize to the public for causing concern despite the facts." He continued, "The party will conduct a more thorough investigation," and added, "And in the future, we will conduct more rigorous verification in advance."
Lee said, "We are scheduled to enter the core nomination screening for the general election preparation soon," and added, "The Democratic Party will proceed with a system that no candidate can object to and recommend the most competent and clean talents." He also urged, "The Democratic Party must have a sense of mission that this general election is an important election that will determine not only the Democratic Party but also the future of the country," and "I hope everyone will always work with a sincere and earnest heart that matches the public's perspective, not their own."
Before Lee, Lee In-young, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, appeared on CBS radio that morning and said, "There may be parts of the facts to be further confirmed later, but if the party's failure to carefully and thoroughly examine caused concern to the public, I apologize."
In response to the question, "After announcing Mr. Won as a recruited talent, the Me Too movement appeared as a related search term, and rumors circulated. Did you re-examine those parts immediately after the announcement?" Lee said, "If those parts had been officially received and confirmed, we would have responded." He added, "I think there was a shortcoming in that we could not confirm to that extent."
The 'Me Too controversy' regarding Mr. Won arose on the 27th when his ex-girlfriend posted on an internet community that she had suffered dating violence. In response, Mr. Won held a press conference at the National Assembly the previous morning and said, "The posted content is not true," but also said, "I will voluntarily return my status as a recruited talent for the general election." He explained the reason for returning his recruited talent status, saying, "Since I joined the Democratic Party and received more attention and interest than others, no matter how unfair it is, it seems appropriate to bear more severe responsibility and harsh consequences than others."
Although the Democratic Party has taken steps to manage the situation, criticism pointing to the party's recruitment talent verification process is spreading. The previous day, a petition titled "Immediate investigation into sexual crimes against Won Jong-geon and strict punishment if guilty" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board.
The Democratic Party plans to conduct a party-level investigation first and then decide on disciplinary action against Mr. Won. Floor leader Lee said, "We also need to confirm the facts more," and added, "Since an investigation will be conducted soon by the Gender Violence Reporting and Exploration Center under the Secretary-General, we will proceed with the investigation and act according to the results in principle." When asked if they plan to take disciplinary action such as expulsion from the party, he said, "I cannot say anything definitive," and asked, "Please wait and see."
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