Hataekyung to Kim Jaewon: "Is it Only the Party Leader's Words That Are a Problem? Supreme Council Members Should Also Exercise Restraint"

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Kim Jaewon, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, said that party presidential candidate Hong Joonpyo has "little chance of winning," prompting fellow party member Ha Tae-kyung to warn on the 23rd, "Refrain from causing disturbances again."

Ha, who has declared his presidential bid, posted on his Facebook page titled "Is it only the party leader's mouth that's the problem? Supreme Council members should also exercise restraint!"

He began by saying, "Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, has apologized for internal party conflicts and promised to renew his efforts for regime change, but this time a Supreme Council member has stirred up trouble again with unnecessary remarks."

Earlier, on the 21st, Supreme Council member Kim responded on former Open Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju's YouTube channel 'Bongwon Banjeom' to the question "Are you considering joining hands with Hong Joonpyo?" by saying, "No. I dislike it. It seems he has little chance of winning." He also said, in response to the prediction "Hong will beat former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl," "That would be a big problem."

Regarding this, Ha sharply criticized, "Why does the party leadership evaluate and judge candidates when it is the people and party members who should do so?" He added, "If such remarks openly come from the party leadership, who will believe in the fairness of the primary elections?"

Furthermore, he emphasized, "Tensions are rising due to the Democratic Party's attempt to rush through the gag law on the media. What the party leadership should focus on now is a strong fight against the opposition, not internal strife." He urged, "I ask Supreme Council member Kim Jaewon to apologize to party members and to exercise restraint to prevent similar disturbances from recurring."

As the controversy grew, Supreme Council member Kim stated on Facebook that "Since there were points that caused misunderstandings, the video containing those parts has been set to private, and I have requested the producer to delete those parts." It was also reported that he expressed his apologies at a closed Supreme Council meeting held that day.