Taeyoungho and Jeon Juhye Under Review for Political Fund Receipt Allegations
Park Minsik, Who Withdrew from Primary, May Be Relocated to Capital Region
The People Power Party is struggling with noise ahead of the announcement of the primary election results in the TK and PK regions, which are commonly classified as their 'strongholds.' Regarding lawmakers Tae Young-ho and Jeon Ju-hye, who are suspected of receiving illegal political funds and donations, the party stated that it will review the submitted explanatory materials.
Tae Young-ho, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, is answering questions from the press after holding a press conference to voluntarily resign from his position as Supreme Council Member at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 10th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
On the 28th, Jang Dong-hyuk, Secretary-General of the People Power Party, met with reporters at the central party office in Yeouido and said, "We have asked Representative Tae to submit explanatory materials regarding the relevant issues," adding, "It is difficult to uniformly disqualify candidates, so we will examine to what extent the explanations have been made, how far the investigations have progressed, and how the candidate explains the situation." He also stated, "The Nomination Management Committee cannot be aware of all ongoing investigations related to candidates," and "If any parts that the committee failed to filter or confirm are announced later, different decisions can be made at any time according to nomination standards and moral criteria." Representative Tae is under investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for allegedly receiving 'split donations' from a basic council member elected in Gangnam Gap, Seoul.
Explanations were also requested from Representative Jeon, who is suspected of illegal donations. Secretary-General Jang said, "We have asked Representative Jeon's campaign to submit explanatory materials by today." Representative Jeon is under police investigation for violating the Political Funds Act, including allegations that the head of the Seoul Gangdong Agricultural Cooperative deducted 100,000 won from employees' salaries without separate consent to send donations.
The People Power Party appears to be facing noise ahead of the announcement of the primary election results in the Yeongnam region. The party's Nomination Management Committee will announce the primary results for one district in Seoul, five in Busan, five in Daegu, two in Daejeon, two in Ulsan, one in Sejong, one in Gyeonggi, six in North Gyeongsang, and one in South Gyeongsang this afternoon. Among the 18 constituencies that include incumbent lawmakers, Kim Ki-hyun of Ulsan Nam-gu Eul and Song Eon-seok of Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang, are competing against former Ulsan Mayor Park Maeng-woo and former Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim O-jeon, respectively. Attention is also focused on how much the so-called 'JjinYoon' will be chosen in the primaries. In Seongnam Bundang Eul, the primary results between former Presidential Office spokesperson Kim Eun-hye and spokesperson Kim Min-su will be announced, and in Busan Suyeong-gu, the results between former Youth Supreme Council member Jang Ye-chan and Representative Jeon Bong-min will be revealed.
Former Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-sik, who gave up the primary in Yeongdeungpo-gu Eul, Seoul, is rumored to be possibly reassigned to the metropolitan area. Secretary-General Jang said, "There may be dissatisfaction from former Minister Park regarding the decisions made based on the criteria," adding, "I hope there are more competitive candidates in the metropolitan area." Regarding Nomination Committee Chairman Jeong Young-hwan's negative stance on reassigning former Minister Park to Busan, he said, "There was no opportunity for discussion at the committee level," and "I believe Chairman Jeong expressed his personal opinion after judging from the public's perspective." Secretary-General Jang explained, "Former Minister Park is a very excellent person. It would be good if he stays with us until the end," but added, "Regarding reassignment, the candidates' intentions are the most important."
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