Political Circles Stirred by President Lee's Praise for Jeong Wonoh

After President Lee Jae-myung publicly praised Jeong Won-oh, the head of Seongdong District in Seoul, who is being mentioned as one of the ruling party's potential candidates for Seoul mayor in next June's local elections, a political backlash has erupted. The opposition interpreted this as President Lee revealing his "clear intention," strongly criticizing it as a "signal of political intervention," while other potential candidates within the Democratic Party are also unsettled.

President Lee Jae-myung is reviewing documents at the Cabinet meeting held on the 9th at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Park Hong-geun, a Democratic Party lawmaker who officially announced his candidacy for Seoul mayor early last month, appeared on CBS Radio's "News Show" on the 9th and commented on Jeong Won-oh, the head of Seongdong District, who was praised by President Lee for his district administration performance, saying, "On a personal level, I feel envious."

Assemblyman Park added, "I think it's good for President Lee, as a former local government head, to praise those who are doing well in similar roles," but also said, "In the end, it's true that District Head Jeong benefited, so I can't help but feel envious on a human level."

The previous day, President Lee posted on his social media, "It seems District Head Jeong really is doing a good job. My own satisfaction with Seongnam city administration was quite high, but I don't think I could even compare." This is the first time since taking office that President Lee has publicly praised a specific local government head by name. In political circles, this has been interpreted as President Lee signaling his preference for Jeong as the next Seoul mayoral candidate.

As a result, President Lee had to cancel his previously scheduled visit to Seongdong District in Seoul that day. Assemblyman Park said, "President Lee had scheduled the visit to Seongdong District a long time ago, but he canceled it today out of concern that visiting now might fuel misunderstandings about supporting a specific individual."

Park Jumin, another Democratic Party lawmaker running for Seoul mayor, also appeared on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show" and said, "President Lee contacted me very late last night," adding, "I can't share the details, but I don't think there's any need to overinterpret the situation."

There is still no clearly leading candidate for Seoul mayor within the Democratic Party. Regardless of their personal intentions, speculation continues within the party about drafting Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, citing their competitiveness in the general election.

The opposition is fiercely attacking the situation, calling it a "government-led election."

Na Kyung-won, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, wrote on her social media the previous day, "This is a blatant 'signal of election intervention' that is openly promoting a specific individual," and criticized it as a "'clear intention order' and pre-election campaigning by the President." She also called on the National Election Commission to "set clear standards and issue warnings regarding actions that undermine the President's legal obligation of political neutrality and the prohibition of pre-election campaigning."

Jeong Ihan, spokesperson for the Reform Party, stated, "This is not just a simple compliment, but an explicit 'nomination guideline' and a dangerous signal that invites controversy over government-led election intervention," and questioned, "Is the President now the head of the executive branch or the head of the ruling party's election committee?"