"A person with 10,000 won challenging a person with 100 million won to a one-shot match"
Lee Won-wook, a non-Myeong (非明) faction member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed to party leader Lee Jae-myung that he run in next year’s general election in his hometown of Andong, Gyeongbuk, and said he would "go wherever the party wants if the leader and his close aides choose first." In response, Jeong Seong-ho, a pro-Myeong (親明) faction leader in the Democratic Party, rebutted by saying, "Be a bit more dignified."
On the 15th, Jeong said on CBS’s "Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show," "Isn’t this like someone with 10,000 won in assets saying to someone with 100 million won, ‘Let’s bet all our assets and have a one-shot match, a wager’?" He added, "The comparison itself doesn’t make sense."
Earlier, Lee said on MBC’s "Kim Jong-bae’s Focus," "(Leader Lee) is currently one of the most representative vested interests in our country’s politics," urging him to run in his hometown Andong.
However, Jeong countered, "(Leader Lee) is the party leader who currently enjoys 77% support and receives full backing from party members and supporters," adding, "Is it comparable to say, ‘Let’s run for office together with the party leader who is responsible for devising the party’s general election strategy, deciding on nominations, and managing party affairs during the election period’?"
He continued, "If the party leader goes to Andong as his constituency, wouldn’t he have to devote all his energy there? It would be like just confining the party leader to Andong," and questioned, "Does running in Andong mean just managing the constituency and campaigning there?"
Regarding the host’s remark that the leader should show a willingness to give up vested interests, Jeong said, "That should be done in a different way," adding, "The real question is how the Democratic Party will show its abandonment of vested interests, its image of change and innovation, and its efforts to recruit new talents during the general election process."
When asked if running in Andong is even considered by Leader Lee, Jeong replied, "It’s a method that should not be done," and said, "Moreover, for a three-term lawmaker to say, ‘I’ll go somewhere else, so you, the party leader, should go somewhere else,’ is not something that can be said."
Former lawmaker Choi Jae-sung predicted that Leader Lee might declare he will not run in a magnanimous gesture later on. Jeong responded, "It’s inappropriate to talk about that at this stage," adding, "There is still a lot of time before the election. The decisive moves that influence the election are usually formed about one or two months before the general election."
Lee Won-wook and other non-Myeong faction lawmakers are preparing to launch a non-Myeong faction meeting called "Principles and Common Sense." Regarding this, Jeong said, "Out of 165 Democratic Party lawmakers, about 5% are gathering now to discuss the party’s future tasks, what policy agendas the party should present in the general election, and what vision and values to propose," adding, "But in the end, they are only making disparaging remarks about the leadership, demanding the nomination rights be handed over or given up, or that the party leadership relinquish its authority."
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