Jojonghun: "If the general election is held with Kim Bu-gyeom and Kim Dong-yeon, it will easily lose"

"Post Lee Jae-myung is gone"
"If I become the emergency committee chair, I will cut out the infected part"

As the arrest consent bill for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was narrowly rejected, analyses suggest that Lee's leadership is wavering. Amid discussions within the Democratic Party about new focal points such as former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Assemblyman Cho Jung-hoon of the Transition Korea party predicted, "If the election is fought with those two, it will likely be lost easily."

On the 28th, on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' Assemblyman Cho said, "The bigger crisis for the Democratic Party is not Lee Jae-myung's legal risks but the absence of a post-Lee Jae-myung figure."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "The governor of Gyeonggi Province is not in a legal position to take on leadership. I personally think former Prime Minister Kim is an excellent person, but the general election is a competition of innovation," and continued, "I understand that a few names are being mentioned now, but are these names really suitable for the Democratic Party that wants to move forward? It feels like a rerun, the same broadcast, a continuous loop."

He emphasized the need for an innovative leader who can excise the party's 'sore spots.' Assemblyman Cho said, "New figures, new politics, new methods, and new discourses should emerge and compete. To be honest, the core of the innovation competition is which camp or party can eliminate more old practices," adding, "In 2016, Kim Jong-in, as the emergency committee chairman, took charge of the Democratic Party, which was dying, not by nominating certain people but by not nominating certain people, so-called 'cutting them off.' That is how the party survived."

He also expressed his determination by saying that if he became the emergency committee chairman, he would not be lenient. He said, "If I join as (emergency committee chairman), I have affection for the Democratic Party. I believe progressive politics is necessary for our Republic of Korea, and I want to restore the dignity of progressivism along with its passion," and "If you need someone willing to excise the sore spots, then I am the one needed. But if you want a leadership that is agreeable and safe, then someone else would be better."

Lee is scheduled to appear in court on the 3rd of next month on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. Assemblyman Cho attracted attention by insisting that this process should be broadcast live. He said, "Although there were quite a few defections yesterday, watching the party leader who refuses to relinquish the privilege of immunity from arrest, which only 300 out of 50 million citizens can enjoy, made me reflect on the duties of a public official," adding, "As a public official and a member of the National Assembly, if you want to maintain such privileges, the responsibility towards the public is also important."