Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited Busan and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province on the 4th — the final day of a three-day tour of the Yeongnam region — and concentrated his efforts on winning votes there.
Party leaders concluded that a consolidated conservative vote made victory in Busan uncertain. About three weeks after the 15th of last month, they returned to Busan for another on-site Supreme Council meeting, signaling a renewed push to court local voters.
At the on-site Supreme Council meeting he chaired at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center, Jeong highlighted the strengths of Busan mayoral candidate Jeon Jae-su and Ha Jung-woo, who is running in the Busan Buk-gap by-election.
He argued that if Jeon Jae-su’s plan to build a maritime capital is paired with Ha Jung-woo’s forward-looking strategy, Busan can achieve a major transformation. Jeong also said the city needs leadership that can align national and municipal governance with President Lee Jae-myung’s agenda, and he named Jeon as the right person for that role — the winning choice.
On Ha, Jeong emphasized that Ha is a Busan native and a talent nurtured by the city. He said that if Ha’s vision for AI is integrated with Busan’s manufacturing and maritime industries, the city’s core sectors will regain momentum and take off.
Jeong also attacked the People Power Party over its candidate selection. At the Supreme Council he called the nominations the worst in history and accused the party of producing a brazen “Yoon Again” phenomenon. He demanded to know whether the People Power Party is “remnants of an insurrection, the main force of an insurrection, or a party trying to instigate another insurrection.”
He specifically named People Power’s Daegu mayoral candidate Chu Kyung-ho and former presidential chief of staff Jeong Jin-seok, who declared his run in the Gongju–Buyeo–Cheongyang by-election in South Chungcheong Province. Jeong said they should be profusely apologetic to the public for provoking an insurrection by imposing illegal martial law, yet instead the party is celebrating President Yoon Suk-yeol’s collaborators.
Prosecutors have indicted Chu on charges of participating in major insurrectional duties, and they have charged Jeong with abuse of authority and obstructing the exercise of rights.
