Lee Jae-myung's 'Self-Nomination' Controversy... "It's Obviously Strange, Lee Must Explain"

Seolhun "Was it really necessary to become a member of the National Assembly to that extent? Difficult to understand"
Park Yongjin "If Representative Lee becomes leader, possibility of controversy over personnel management nominations and unfair interference" criticism

Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 21st and appeared deep in thought. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Amid allegations that Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly requested nomination for the June 1st by-election in Incheon Gyeyang-eul, demands within the party for Lee’s explanation are growing.

Previously, former Democratic Party Emergency Committee member Park Ji-hyun revealed in an Edaily interview, "(Lee) directly requested nomination for the Incheon Gyeyang-eul parliamentary election. He even pressured by calling to 'call' him to the Incheon Gyeyang-eul area." At the time, the Democratic Party stated that the party requested his candidacy for the purpose of winning the local elections, but this claim contradicts that explanation.

Regarding this, Seol Hoon, who is competing against Lee in the August party leadership election, said in an MBC radio interview on the 25th, "(Lee) suddenly decided to run in former party leader Song Young-gil’s district (Incheon Gyeyang-eul), while Song ran for Seoul mayor, which anyone would find strange." He added, "It’s hard to understand whether he really thought it was necessary to go that far just to become a member of the National Assembly. There needs to be a clear explanation, but it still hasn’t come out, which is strange."

After losing the presidential election in March, Lee’s immediate run for the parliamentary election, and furthermore his candidacy in Incheon Gyeyang-eul, where he has no local ties, has drawn criticism both inside and outside the party. Incheon Gyeyang-eul was originally represented by former party leader Song Young-gil, who vacated the seat to run for Seoul mayor.

Seol continued, "(Regarding the self-nomination issue) the party needs to investigate exactly how the internal discussions proceeded," adding, "Legally, there may be no problem, but morally, is it acceptable? I think this issue needs to be discussed."

Another party leadership candidate, Park Yong-jin, also commented in a YTN radio interview on Park Ji-hyun’s allegations, saying, "If pressure was applied in such a way to force nomination and allow 'self-nomination,' then when Lee becomes party leader, there is a high possibility of controversies such as favoritism in nominations and improper interference."

He further stated, "When listening to candidates who lost in the local elections, they unanimously say that the election was really difficult because of criticism from all voters regarding the Gyeyang-eul nomination rather than evaluations of themselves," adding, "At a time when responsibility and evaluation should be made, the claim that Lee was called by the party differs from the story that he requested the nomination himself, so issues related to the nomination should be evaluated, pointed out, and criticized."

Meanwhile, Lee has not issued any statement regarding Park’s allegations.