[Hot Interview] Yeo Jo Jeong-hoon "Early Party Convention Will Accelerate Yoon Government's Lame Duck"

"Three Consecutive Election Defeats Are Not Coincidence but a Result of the System"
"We Will Show How the Neighborhood Changes When Politics Changes"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jung-hoon Cho, the elected member of the People Power Party (PPP) for Seoul Mapo-gap, reclaimed the constituency from the opposition after 12 years. Cho defeated Lee Ji-eun, the Democratic Party candidate, by a narrow margin of just 599 votes in Mapo-gap, a stronghold where No Woong-rae of the Democratic Party had served four terms. As the only PPP proportional representative member to successfully win a constituency seat for a second term, he emphasized, "An early party convention would do more harm than good."

What are your thoughts on your election victory?

I barely won. In a way, I am a newcomer in Mapo, so I am very grateful to the people who trusted me. This victory is not just mine, but a chance given by the residents. Also, I believe the election is just the beginning. That’s why the congratulatory banner says, 'Now, we begin together.' For the future, after changing things for the first time in 40 years, I want to concretely show how politics can change the neighborhood.

What kind of legislative activities do you want to pursue in the 22nd National Assembly?

I am the only PPP proportional representative member who survived as a re-elected constituency lawmaker. I feel a heavy responsibility and will try to fulfill all the promises I made. As a member of the National Assembly, I want to maintain dignity and seriously think about and lead efforts for the future of South Korea. Specifically, I think it’s about closing gaps. I want to take the lead in considering what laws and systems are needed to address the polarization and disparities that have become too widespread and large in our society.

The party was defeated in the general election. What is the most urgent issue to resolve?

I hope we are not too impatient or hasty in selecting a new party leader. We have lost three consecutive elections based on general election results. Losing to this extent is due to the system, not by chance. It is a structural and institutional defeat. I believe a thorough analysis of the causes of defeat should be conducted, especially among the members of the People Power Party, focusing on those who won and those who lost. Perhaps we have been running the last three general elections without truly understanding why we lost. Therefore, after a thorough analysis of the causes of defeat and preparing countermeasures, the next party leader should be the person best able to implement those measures.

Do you think the party should move toward an emergency response committee system rather than an early party convention?

I think an early party convention would do more harm than good. It feels like it would immediately lead to the next presidential race. An early party convention would accelerate the lame-duck period of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

On the 11th, a congratulatory banner for Jo Jeonghun, the elected member of the People Power Party for Mapo-gu Gap, Seoul, was hung near Gongdeok Five-way Intersection in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

People Power Party elected members promised to give up parliamentary privileges when running for office. How should this be pursued in a situation where the opposition holds the majority?

If the Democratic Party agrees, we are ready to push forward anytime. We have proposed seven items starting with the privilege against arrest. Politics is about taking one step at a time. Whether in the 21st National Assembly or the 22nd, if there are political reform measures that the Democratic Party can accept, even partially, we are willing to accept them. Since we have already signed and entered with these commitments, the ball seems to be in the Democratic Party’s court.

The Democratic Party plans to handle the special prosecutor for Chae Sang-byeong at the plenary session on May 2. What do you think?

I think we need to review the contents of the special prosecutor law. We must investigate the cause of the unfair sacrifice of Chae Sang-byeong, a young citizen of the Republic of Korea. Who would oppose that? However, we need to examine how far the current investigation has progressed, how it will proceed, and whether the special prosecutor law can ensure a fair investigation without being caught up in political strife. For example, the special prosecutor investigations like the Kim Keon-hee Deutsche Motors case were investigations appointed only by the Democratic Party and conducted by the Democratic Party. We need a comprehensive judgment on whether fairness can be guaranteed, avoiding such biased cases.