No.1 Park Eun-jung, No.2 Cho Kuk... 'Anti-Prosecution Banner' Frontline
4 out of 10 Leading Candidates Face 'Criminal Charges'
Support Rate Up to 26%... Expected to Secure Over 10 Seats
The Joguk Innovation Party, which is causing a stir in party approval ratings, has completed the allocation of proportional representation candidates. Representative Joguk, who took the top priority among male candidates, is expected to enter the 22nd National Assembly smoothly. However, there is considerable criticism labeling them as 'bulletproof badges' because some candidates, including Representative Joguk and Representative Hwang Unha, who are in the safe zone for election, have been convicted of crimes in lower courts.
According to the Joguk Innovation Party on the 19th, the final 20 candidates were confirmed after an online vote for proportional representation order over two days starting from the 17th. A total of 107,489 party members and national participatory voters took part, with a turnout rate of 78.67%. Lim Yuwon, the party's election management committee chairperson, self-assessed, "The national expectations for the Joguk Innovation Party are raising its approval ratings."
Number 1 is former prosecutor Park Eunjeong. She is suspected of leading the practical work of inspection and disciplinary requests against Prosecutor General Yoon Seokyoul under Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae during the Moon Jae-in administration. She is also suspected of providing materials obtained during the inspection of then-Prosecutor Han Donghoon in the so-called 'Channel A media collusion' case in October 2020 to the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Committee without authorization. She is currently under investigation by the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Department (PCC), and the Ministry of Justice issued a dismissal, the highest level of disciplinary action, last month.
In addition, the backgrounds of major candidates placed in the safe zone for election are controversial. This is because they ran for office while having been convicted of crimes in lower courts. Among the top 10 candidates, four are under investigation or trial.
Representative Joguk, who received number 2, was sentenced to two years in prison in the second trial this February for charges including his children's admission fraud. Even if Representative Joguk succeeds in entering the National Assembly, he will lose his seat if the sentence is finalized by the Supreme Court. According to current law, if a member loses their seat due to criminal charges, the next candidate outside the winning zone will succeed. Lawyer Shin Jangsik, placed at number 4, has a record of one DUI and three unlicensed driving offenses. During the last general election, this record caused controversy, leading to his withdrawal from the Justice Party's proportional representation candidacy.
Representative Hwang Unha, who received number 8 on the proportional list, is in a similar situation. He was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial last November for allegations of Blue House-directed investigations and interference in the Ulsan mayoral election. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, he declared he would not run after controversy arose during the nomination process due to his prison sentence. However, the following week, he switched his party affiliation to the Joguk Innovation Party and applied as a proportional representation candidate. When criticized for reversing his position, he said, "I declared I would not run in the local constituency, but I never said I would not run in the 22nd general election."
Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, is taking a commemorative photo at the founding initiators' meeting of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party Incheon City Party held on the afternoon of the 17th at Chapeldemiang in Namdong-gu, Incheon. [Image source=Yonhap News]
In a survey released the day before, the Joguk Innovation Party even surpassed the Democratic Party's satellite party, the Democratic Union. According to a poll conducted by Realmeter, a professional polling agency, commissioned by Energy Economy Newspaper from the 11th to the 15th, the voting intention for proportional representation parties was counted as People's Future (31.1%), Joguk Innovation Party (26.8%), and Democratic Union (18.0%). If these approval ratings are reflected in the general election, the Joguk Innovation Party could secure 10 to 13 seats out of 46 proportional representation seats.
Meanwhile, in the aforementioned survey, Realmeter attempted to contact 57,475 people, with 2,504 respondents (4.4%). The sampling error is ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the Realmeter website or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
