Democratic Party "Will Form Task Force for Jeong Soon-shin Incident"
People Power Party "Hypocrisy... Starting with Jeong Cheong-rae"
The ruling and opposition parties are clashing over lawyer Jeong Soon-shin, who was appointed as the new head of the National Investigation Headquarters but resigned due to controversy over his son's school violence.
The opposition party called it a "real-life version of the popular drama 'The Glory'" and announced plans to form a related task force (TF), while the ruling party countered by saying, "Investigate the sexual harassment issue involving Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae's child first."
Jeong Cheong-rae, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking about the new logo of the Presidential Office and the logo of the prosecution at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
On the 25th, Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said about the school violence case involving Jeong's son, "This is a representative case showing a bitter self-portrait of how power in Korean society directly influences children and even covers up their wrongdoings."
He added, "After consulting with the secretaries of the Education Committee, the Public Administration and Security Committee, and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, if necessary, we will form a related task force (TF) to uncover the truth about school violence."
On the 26th, Kim Seong-hwan, chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, held a press conference at the National Assembly and criticized, "According to the testimony of the teacher at the time, Jeong's son showed no remorse at all, and Jeong himself actually blocked the disciplinary procedures. President Yoon Seok-yeol and Minister Han Dong-hoon, who tried to appoint such a person as the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, should sincerely apologize."
In response, the People Power Party counterattacked, calling it 'double standards.' Yang Geum-hee, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, released a statement on the 25th saying, "If the Democratic Party is not a party of double standards, then investigate the allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct involving middle school girls by Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae's child, who belongs to the same party, within that task force first."
Yang added, "Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae apologized for his child's issue but took no responsibility. The position of head of the National Investigation Headquarters is important, but the position of a member of the National Assembly carries even greater public responsibility. Moreover, he is a senior member of the Democratic Party," criticizing him. She further urged, "If those allegations are true, Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae should resign as a senior member and take appropriate responsibility."
On the 27th, Jeon Yeo-ok, former Saenuri Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) lawmaker, posted on her social media, "Shouldn't Jeong Cheong-rae also take responsibility?" She claimed, "When Rep. Jeong's son, a first-year middle school student, committed sexual harassment by touching a female classmate's chest, Rep. Jeong downplayed it as a 'problematic behavior'."
She continued, "The sexual harassment details involving Jeong Cheong-rae's son reported in the media are very serious. For over a year afterward, Jeong's son sent anonymous obscene messages to the female student, who eventually reported it to the police because she could no longer endure it." She also pointed out, "The truly shocking fact is that Jeong Cheong-rae's son faced no school punishment such as forced transfer. The victim and the perpetrator continued attending the same school. This is torture and a nightmare."
Meanwhile, Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae apologized in 2017 after media reports surfaced that his middle school son had committed crimes including sexual harassment against a peer female student, saying, "I deeply reflect on whether I have been neglectful as a father while living as a politician."
At that time, Rep. Jeong stated, "In 2015, my child and the victim were first-year middle school students, 12 years old, and friends. My child engaged in the problematic behavior, and when the victim refused, he stopped. Later, in the second year of middle school, my child sent inappropriate anonymous messages to the victim, who then reported it to the police," he added.
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