'Chinmun' Jeon Hae-cheol, Won't Run for Party President... "I Will Step Down First"

Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Jeon Hae-cheol, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has announced that he will not run in the upcoming party leadership election.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, Jeon stated on his Facebook, "I will put everything down first to quickly resolve the current chaotic situation and create a foundation where visions and tasks for the future of the Democratic Party can be actively discussed," adding, "I will not run for party leader in this leadership election."

He mentioned, "With the party facing difficulties due to consecutive election defeats, we must pool wisdom to normalize and straighten the party," and added, "Among many opinions, some people, including certain lawmakers who are candidates themselves, have suggested not running."

He continued, "I believe this is a solution found out of deep concern for the party and an urgent desire to set it right. I understand this as sincerity for the innovation and unity of the Democratic Party and agree with the intention," and said, "Therefore, I will not run in this election and will support the formation of a party leader and leadership team that will lead the party based on Democratic Party values."

He also stated, "The Democratic Party must overcome income, asset, and opportunity inequality, population decline, and regional imbalance, and focus more on setting and solving livelihood issues that the public can feel," adding, "It is also necessary to firmly raise issues and prepare alternatives against the Yoon Seok-yeol government, which ignores principles and procedures in state administration, such as the West Sea civil servant killing incident and the establishment of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Police Bureau."

He emphasized, "To properly handle these matters, we must establish the party's democratic decision-making structure and operate it as a policy party and system party," and said, "This leadership election should be a place to specifically discuss and be evaluated on what the party needs in this regard."

Jeon, considered a core figure of the pro-Moon Jae-in faction, is currently mentioned as a rival to Lee Jae-myung, the leading candidate for party leader. He previously competed closely with Lee in the Democratic Party's gubernatorial primary for Gyeonggi Province ahead of the June 13, 2018 local elections.