Jung Bong-ju: "Citizens Party repeats Democratic Party claims... Open Party is the 'real' one expressing independent voices"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Jeong Bong-ju, the election countermeasures committee chairman of the Open Democratic Party, criticized the Deobureo Citizen Party by saying they are "simply repeating the existing claims of the Democratic Party of Korea." Regarding the distinction from the Citizen Party, he emphasized, "The Open Party consists of people who fought with their whole bodies for the success and birth of the Moon Jae-in administration," and added, "We are voicing opinions that the Democratic Party cannot."

On the morning of the 2nd, Chairman Jeong appeared on CBS Radio and, when asked "Why should it be the Open Democratic Party?" he pointed out, "Other proportional representation parties are satellite proportional parties of the two major parties," and said, "They are repeating the claims of the existing Democratic Party and the United Future Party without their own independent identity or clear agenda."

He continued, "Asking the public for votes in this manner shows a lack of basic attitude. They have no clear stance or policies on what they intend to do, yet they are asking for votes. We cannot agree with this," he added.

He said, "It seems the Democratic Party is pursuing a quiet election strategy, but we are voicing opinions that the Democratic Party cannot," and emphasized, "For example, regarding the prosecution's search and seizure of Kim Young-bae, the Democratic Party candidate for Seongbuk-gap, we issued a statement demanding an end to political prosecution behavior, but the Democratic Party had not released any comment by the time we made our statement."

He added, "We are voicing independent opinions, and each candidate is a top expert in their respective fields, having lived with clear personal convictions," and emphasized, "That is why we started with the catchphrase 'The real one has appeared.'"

Regarding Kim Hong-gul, the co-chairman of the Citizen Party's election countermeasures committee, saying in a CBS interview that "They (the Open Party) are a minor party hastily formed for the election, unlike the government ruling party," Jeong said, "I fully understand that they say this with some regret because we are competitive and their approval ratings are rising."

However, he added, "I have been with the Democratic Party for 33 years, and everyone here fought with their whole bodies for the birth and success of the Moon Jae-in administration. I do not want to respond with wordplay," he said firmly.

He also said, "(The Citizen Party) has a very arrogant attitude," and added, "Please judge what kind of life Jeong Bong-ju, who is part of this party, has lived, what Son Hye-won has done for the birth of the Moon Jae-in administration, and who the candidates are."

When asked about the possibility of integration with the Democratic Party, he replied, "There is sufficient willingness to integrate," and said, "If integration happens, we will have to ask the party members, but it should be done as a party-to-party integration while making demands."