"What Did Lee Jae-myung Give Up for Victory in the General Election?"
On the 11th, Assemblywoman Jeon Hye-sook left the Democratic Party of Korea. Jeon, the incumbent representative of Gwangjin-gu Gap, stated, "I thought we (Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, and I) were comrades fighting together, but that was not the case. I was actually a target for elimination." She refrained from commenting on her future plans.
During a press conference at the National Assembly that day, Jeon announced her departure, saying, "Jeon Hye-sook, who loved the Democratic Party for its values, philosophy, and policies in the barren lands of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, where the Democratic Party is weak. Jeon Hye-sook, who was nominated but falsely accused and had her nomination revoked late at night, yet served loyally in white clothes. Now, that Jeon Hye-sook is about to leave the Democratic Party."
She raised issues regarding the nomination process and subsequent responses. Jeon also questioned Lee Jae-myung about what innovations he had made.
Jeon said, "During my three terms as a member of the National Assembly, I served as the chair and member of the nomination management committee. I have experienced numerous nomination processes," adding, "This is the first time I have seen so many mysterious opinion polls, which seem to be designed to preemptively identify and reflect voters' tendencies in the candidate selection process."
Referring to her defeat in last week's primary, she said, "None of the losing candidates held grudges against the party, and some even expressed their intention to remain in the Democratic Party to contribute to the general election victory," continuing, "However, instead of offering words of comfort to these members, Lee Jae-myung stigmatized and mocked them as targets for innovation. He poured salt on the wounds of his comrades."
Earlier, Lee had met with reporters in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, the day after the primary results, which were called "Bloody Wednesday," stating, "The Democratic Party is a party of its members, and the people are the owners of the party, which was proven through the primary," and "After individually checking the primary results, I understand that in most districts where incumbents lost, the results were decided without any additional weighting or subtraction." Jeon is known to have been hurt by these remarks.
Jeon criticized the claim of nomination innovation through incumbent replacement, saying, "Lee Jae-myung is also an incumbent lawmaker. By that logic, shouldn't Gyeongyang-eul be conceded to a newcomer to achieve incumbent replacement and nomination innovation?" She added, "What has the leader discarded through self-innovation for the general election victory?" and "You boast about the Democratic Party's nomination innovation, but is Lee Jae-myung prepared to take responsibility for the general election results?"
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
