Party for National Innovation Defector and Jokook Ally Eun Woogeun: "Attacks on Sexual Misconduct Victims Must Stop... Could Lead to Cruel Consequences"

Amid Sexual Misconduct Controversy, Party Quickly Shifts to Jokook as Emergency Committee Chair
Founding Member of the Party for National Innovation and Close Associate of Jokook

Eun Woo-geun, the senior advisor who served as co-chairman of the founding preparation committee during the establishment of the Party for National Innovation, announced his resignation from the party, criticizing the handling process of the sexual misconduct case within the party. On the 10th, Eun stated on his social networking service (SNS), "I am leaving the Party for National Innovation. I have also resigned from my position as senior advisor," adding, "As the co-chairman of the founding preparation committee, I keep recalling how I supported Jokook, then the head of talent recruitment, with a full heart, and it breaks my heart."

Eun Woo-geun, the senior advisor who served as co-chairman of the founding preparation committee during the establishment of the Party for National Innovation, announced his resignation from the party, criticizing the handling process of the sexual misconduct case within the party. Eun Woo-geun Facebook

He continued, "It is truly heavy and painful for me to leave like this. From now on, I will support or criticize the party from outside," and emphasized, "I hope the Party for National Innovation will be reborn through this crisis. Above all, there must first be a thorough and fundamental reflection on where this crisis originated."

Eun further appealed, "I have one last plea. Very unfair attacks have begun against the victim of the sexual misconduct case and the victim's representative. This is extremely dangerous and could lead to cruel consequences." He also advised, "This is absolutely undesirable for the party or for anyone else. Please stop. I urge the newly formed emergency committee and the party's secretariat to respond swiftly." In conclusion, he added, "Although I am leaving the party, if the Party for National Innovation truly leads innovation in the local elections, I will support it without hesitation." Eun, who is leaving the party due to the sexual misconduct case, is considered a close associate of former leader Jokook. He previously served as the first chairman of the Gwangju City Party Committee and, in 2020, submitted petitions to the Blue House and the National Human Rights Commission regarding the prosecution's investigation into former Justice Minister Jokook.

Jokook, former representative of the Jokook Innovation Party, and Eun Woo-geun, standing advisor. Photo by Eun Woo-geun Facebook

Meanwhile, Kang Mijeong, spokesperson for the Party for National Innovation, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 4th and announced her resignation, stating, "The party ignored the cries of the victim," regarding the sexual misconduct and workplace harassment cases within the party. Kang revealed that she was one of the victims of the sexual misconduct case. Following the mass resignation of the leadership over this incident, the Party for National Innovation decided to nominate former leader Jokook as the sole candidate for the emergency committee chair. Jokook, who had envisioned returning to the leadership through the party convention scheduled for November, now faces the task of resolving the internal turmoil caused by the sexual misconduct case.