Amid growing criticism of the so-called 'Gaeddal,' a hardline fandom within the party, Cho Eung-cheon, a non-Ming faction member of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed concern, saying, "The justification of fandom has intensified to the point of becoming a bulletproof party."
On the 30th, Cho said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "Currently, moral insensitivity, double standards, and the deterioration of intra-party democracy have not improved at all," adding, "Looking further ahead, the justification of fandom has intensified, leading to the party becoming bulletproof, and there is now concern about the party becoming a personal faction under Representative Lee Jae-myung."
Cho is one of the 'principled members' who make strong statements even against the hardline fandom. He said, "It has become a situation where it takes tremendous courage to say something different from those hardline supporters," adding, "They call it principled remarks, but does that make sense? Why should a lawmaker be praised for expressing their own thoughts? Are we some kind of independence activists?"
Meanwhile, the pro-Ming faction is pushing for the abolition of the delegate system, which could increase the influence of the hardline fandom. Regarding this, Cho said, "To use an analogy, there is a fire in our house. When there is a fire, shouldn't we put it out quickly? But instead, they say the fire in our house has strong flames, so let's grill meat over it," adding, "It seems they are not thinking about the essence of the situation."
He continued, "I'm not saying the delegate system is absolute. There are issues of vote equivalence and vested interests. If there are vested interest problems, we should consider how to weaken equivalence or reduce vested interests," adding, "But just deciding to do this alone?what would happen then?"
Regarding the report to the National Assembly plenary session on the arrest warrants for lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man, who resigned amid allegations related to money envelopes exchanged during the 2021 Democratic Party convention, Cho said, "There is a significant burden regarding the image of a bulletproof party. There is also a consensus that this is a very serious issue shaking the foundation of party democracy. Some members even came out during the party meeting saying they feel ashamed and betrayed," adding, "Overall, since they were our colleagues, there seems to be no thought of protecting them."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
