Choi Jae-sung "If Jeong Cheong-rae steps down, is Lee Jae-myung next? What kind of Moon logic is this?"

Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, defended his position as the Chair of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee amid internal strife within the Democratic Party. Jeong claimed, "If Jeong Cheong-rae steps down, the next targeting will be Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, and the leadership." Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Choi Jae-sung criticized this, saying, "I don't understand where such a moon logic comes from."

On the 5th, former Secretary Choi said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "The position of the chair of a standing committee in the National Assembly is not meant to protect Leader Lee," expressing his view.

On the 1st, Supreme Council Member Jeong announced his intention to retain the chairmanship of the Public Administration and Security Committee through his social media (SNS), raising his voice by saying, "I will be the lips of Lee Jae-myung's leadership and protect the gums." This is the logic of 'sunmangchihan' (a Korean idiom meaning closely connected interests). Supporters have started signing petitions for him.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, former Secretary Choi pointed out, "What Representative Jeong Cheong-rae is doing is dragging us into a swamp. The public watching the Democratic Party cannot understand this," adding, "Hardcore supporters are currently signing the 'Petition to Defend Jeong Cheong-rae as Chair of the Public Administration and Security Committee' by the tens of thousands. This is increasingly distancing the party from the public's perspective."

He also likened this to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's 'Fukushima contaminated water' issue. He said, "Supreme Council Member Jeong continues to insist on something that doesn't make sense, calling himself the lips protecting Leader Lee Jae-myung, aligning with hardcore supporters, which ultimately makes things very difficult for the Democratic Party," adding, "Although calling it 'contaminated water' might be a bit excessive, mishandling even one issue like this results in the release of a harmful culture."

Former Secretary Choi emphasized that the leadership should focus on the party's current issues first. He said, "Positions such as standing committee chairs, floor leaders, and budget adjustment committee members are truly busy roles. In the past, even Supreme Council Members or spokespersons did not hold these posts," adding, "Why does the leadership sit at the back in the National Assembly? Because they are extremely busy with many tasks, they need to come and go frequently, take calls, and handle various matters comfortably, so they are given seats at the back."

He warned that if a Supreme Council Member takes on a standing committee chair position, the committee itself could become unstable. Former Secretary Choi said, "If the Supreme Council suddenly convenes or there is an emergency and the standing committee meeting is scheduled but the chair cannot attend, someone else must act as a proxy, causing problems," adding, "In the past, spokespersons, secretaries-general, and strategy committee chairs did not even serve as floor leaders."