Choo Mi-ae: "Ban Lee Jae-myung Cannot Win People's Choice with Negativity Alone"

Former Minister and Democratic Party presidential primary candidate Chu Mi-ae is greeting party members at a party member meeting held at the Democratic Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office on the 23rd. Photo by Sanghyun Lee lsh2055@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Former Minister Chu Mi-ae, a preliminary presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, criticized on the 23rd at a party member meeting held at the Democratic Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office, saying, "A race framed as Lee Jae-myung versus anti-Lee Jae-myung cannot be an interesting primary and is not befitting of the Democratic Party."

Former Minister Chu said, "Turning your back on comrades from yesterday and throwing anything at them today shows no loyalty," adding, "Showing such behavior will prevent the Democratic Party from being chosen by the people."

She continued, "We need a primary that shows a vision for how to lead the future five years of the Republic of Korea," and said, "For that, I hope you will strongly support me, Chu Mi-ae."

Regarding the recent rise in approval ratings, she said, "Recently, reform has been buried and only livelihood issues are being emphasized, but I believe reform is livelihood itself," adding, "Persistently advocating this has been the driving force that brought me this far, and I am the right person to lead the reforms that the Moon Jae-in administration could not accomplish."

She also added that she intends to surpass the bronze cross, moving from 4th to 3rd place in approval ratings, and advance to the silver cross.

On the Chu-Yoon conflict frame, she claimed, "Because of that frame, I was the politician with the highest unfavorable rating at the time of my presidential candidacy. While others started from a positive, I started from -20%. But now, it has risen to 11%. There is no other candidate like me," and stated, "The prosecution used the media to highlight the conflict frame for their own benefit and trapped me."

Quoting former President Roh Moo-hyun, she said, "Democracy is the politics of public opinion. The media moves public opinion. Capital moves the media. Behind that capital is the prosecution," emphasizing the need for reform by saying, "The president can be changed by voting, but bureaucrats, prosecution, and the media wield enormous power without any responsibility and cannot be changed."

Finally, she appealed for support, saying, "I am different from those who say they will reform only during elections. If you have many weaknesses, you cannot reform. If you cannot manage yourself, you cannot reform. Not everyone needs to be a general. Even one courageous person stepping forward can lead reform."