"What's the Crime of Joguk?" "The Five First-Term Enemies"... Pro-Moon Community Floods Criticism of Ruling Party's 20s and 30s

Pro-Moon Community Blames 'Jo Guk' for Ruling Party's First-Term Lawmakers' Election Defeat
"Internal Corruption," "Five First-Term Evils" Criticisms Pour In

Jeon Yong-gi, Oh Young-hwan, Lee So-young, Jang Kyung-tae, Jang Cheol-min, and other first-term lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea greet each other on the 9th at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, before announcing the "Democratic Party of Korea 2030 Lawmakers' Statement." Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] While first-term lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea expressed self-reflective voices on the April 7 by-election defeat on the 9th, voices criticizing them poured out from pro-Moon (친문) communities.

Five first-term lawmakers in their 20s and 30s from the Democratic Party?Oh Young-hwan, Lee So-young, Jang Kyung-tae, Jang Cheol-min, and Jeon Yong-gi?issued a joint statement at the National Assembly on the same day, saying, "The hearts of the people who have turned away are never caused by external factors," and "We admit that the cause of the Democratic Party's defeat lies in the illusions and misjudgments of the Democratic Party, including ourselves."

They cited reasons for the election defeat such as the reversal of the no-candidacy policy, conflicts between former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, and double standards, stating, "We acknowledge that despite the wealth accumulation and double standards of government and ruling party officials who triggered criticism of double standards, we failed to apply a strict standard and measures to the people and instead responded with grievances and excuses. We apologize to the people who were angered."

Regarding the former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk incident, they said, "We thought former Minister Cho was the symbol of prosecutorial reform. Therefore, we judged that we should not yield to the unfair pressure from the prosecution," adding, "However, we reflect on whether in the process many people became angry and divided, and whether this caused the loss of justification and momentum for prosecutorial reform."

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. / Photo by Yonhap News

After the first-term lawmakers’ statement, posts criticizing them with terms like 'five first-term traitors' and 'internal evils' flooded pro-Moon communities.

One netizen said, "You did nothing before the election and now you blame Cho Kuk? What wrong did he do?" and added, "Before blaming others, if the 2030 generation had taken care of themselves before the election, they might have won even a little. Where is the blame on others? Those who did nothing think they were elected because they did well."

Another netizen criticized, "Cho Kuk did nothing wrong. He was a parent who tried to find various internship positions for his child," and said, "He can be criticized, but it’s not illegal. But these first-term XXs are missing the flow and blaming Cho Kuk."

In addition, harsh criticisms toward the first-term lawmakers poured out, such as "It seems that shabby first-term lawmakers and internal evils are being revealed," "Those who became lawmakers thanks to Cho Kuk do not know gratitude," and "Isn’t it human nature to protect each other if you are in the same organization?"