Jae-myung Lee “Stop negative” Nak-yeon Lee “Practice more than words”… uneasy truce

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, declared a cessation of negativity, saying, “I will not make any negative comments about other candidates.” Governor Lee held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly on the morning of the 8th and said, “I thought the one-team spirit was more important than anything else. ” and proposed a truce.

Other runners, including former CEO Lee Nak-yeon, have also officially expressed their welcome, but there are many observations that it is an ‘uneasy truce’. Less than half a day later, the former CEO Lee accepted that “apologies come first,” and continued the war of nerves.

○ Lee Jae-myung “Stop negative”

Governor Lee volunteered for an emergency press conference on the same day, saying, “Party members and supporters are increasingly concerned about the intensifying negative workshop during the Democratic Party’s primary election process.” heard,” he said. The reason for this preemptive declaration of the suspension of the negative was that the negative offensive surrounding him, such as the recent suspicion of recidivism of drunk driving and the involvement of organized gangsters, could adversely affect the competitiveness of the final round by increasing unfavorability of not only himself but also the entire party. It is presumed that this worked. A member of the Democratic Party who is active in this branch camp said, “Especially, even middle-level lawmakers are joining the workshop, and there is a sense of crisis that if it goes on like this, it may be difficult to unite as a team in the future.” The governor also proposed the formation of a regular communication channel between camps on the same day. Governor Lee said, “If it is necessary to confirm the identity or facts between candidates, it would be good to avoid unnecessary suspicions and fights by first going through the verification process in the communication channel between camps rather than the media.”

○ Other runners “May it lead to action, not words”

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, former Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun, and Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin (right from right) attend the funeral ceremony for mountaineer Kim Hong-bin in Gwangju this morning to commemorate the deceased. Gwangju = Photo Investigation Foundation

Immediately after the governor’s declaration of cessation of negatives, former CEO Lee immediately responded through Facebook, saying, “It’s late, but welcome” and “I hope it leads to action rather than words.” Former CEO Lee said, “On July 19, I proposed the ‘3 major principles and 6 practices of the election’, including restraint of negativity.” “Governor Lee responded to the proposal. Thank you,” he added.

The former representative, however, emphasized that “qualification verification and policy verification must continue” for competitiveness in the finals. Rep. Park Gwang-on, former head of the camp’s general headquarters, said at a regular briefing on the afternoon of the day, “The primary is a process of selecting the most competitive candidate, not a place to praise.” Shin Kyung-min, the standing vice chairman of the camp, also said, “The order is to apologize clearly for the negative and black propaganda over the past month, say that you will not repeat it, and promise not to do negatives.”

A war of words continued between the two camps. Rep. Min Hyung-bae, chairman of the strategic planning committee for the branch camp, said on Facebook on the afternoon of the same day, referring to the remarks of Seol-hoon, the former representative of the camp, last week, “I think he has given up on raising the approval rating of Candidate Lee Nak-yeon. Among the preparations for ‘after losing the primary’, he brought out the worst ‘dissatisfaction with the primary’.” Earlier on the 5th, Rep. Seol said in an interview with a press, “If Candidate Jae-myung Lee becomes a finalist candidate, I can’t guarantee (one team).”

Rep. Lee Byung-hoon, a spokesperson for the former representative camp, also wrote on Facebook, “If the candidate has declared negative, the camp should pretend.”

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who proposed the establishment of a candidate verification team within the party, said to Governor Lee and former leader Lee, “The parties who have caused negative overheating should be expelled from the camp immediately, and the party should immediately punish those who spread black propaganda.” demanded apologies from both candidates.

Reporter Oh-hyuk Kwon hyuk@donga.com Go to reporter page>