People Power Party lawmaker Jo Jung-hoon is being interviewed at the National Assembly Hall on November 16 last year. / Photo = Byeon Seong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter In the 22nd general election, the Democratic Party of Korea won a landslide victory as the wind of ‘regime judgment’ blew strongly. There are several regions where the opposition parties are saddened by what they handed over to the People Power Party, of which ‘Mapo Gap’ is a representative example. This is because ‘Mapo Gap’ has traditionally been considered a strong Democratic Party area.
People Power Party lawmaker Cho Jung-hoon, who ran for Mapo-gap in Seoul, faced off against Democratic Party candidate Lee Ji-eun in this general election and won a thrilling victory by a margin of 599 votes. According to the National Election Commission, Rep. Jo Jeong-hoon received 48.30% (48,342 votes) and candidate Lee Ji-eun received 47.70% (47,743 votes).
In an interview with Hankyung.com conducted at his district office on the 12th, Rep. Cho said, “I am so grateful. I won because of the voters’ wise choice. I think they saved my life because they felt sorry for me.”
Mapo Gap is one of the central axes of Seoul’s Han River belt, and is home to four-term incumbent lawmaker Noh Woong-rae and his father, former National Assembly Speaker Noh Seung-hwan, who served a total of nine terms. Rep. Cho, who started his career as a ‘recruited talent’ of the Democratic Party and led the ‘Era Transition’, a minority party with 1 seat in the National Assembly, regained the Democratic Party’s ‘home turf’ after joining the People Power Party.
After joining the People Power Party, Rep. Cho went through a fierce intra-party primary with four current and former lawmakers before being nominated for the Mapo-gap region. After going through fierce competition from the preliminaries, he eventually proved his competitiveness in the finals. Considering that the People Power Party’s approval rating in the Mapo-gap constituency was found to be around 35%, Representative Cho set a remarkable record of winning more than 15% of the vote through his ‘personal skills’.
Rep. Cho is the new face of Mapo. However, the driving force behind his victory was that his legislative activities in the 21st National Assembly were well received. Rep. Cho said, “I will grit my teeth and work hard to ensure that the 47% of voters who did not vote for me will gain the trust of the 47% of voters who said, ‘Jeong-hoon Jo was still okay,’ four years later.”
Rep. Cho is also the only proportional representative member of the People Power Party in the 21st National Assembly to ‘come back alive’ by being elected in his local district. Rep. Cho also did not deny the great responsibility he had to shoulder as a ‘re-elected member of the constituency’. He also expressed his bold ambition, saying, “I want to lead the white paper for the 22nd general election.” He also said, “We must become a winning party, or in other words, a party with high approval ratings. I want to play a role in making it a winning party.”
The following is a Q&A with Rep. Jo Jeong-hoon.
People Power Party Mapo-gu Gap candidate Jo Jeong-hoon is cheering after confirming his election at his election office in Mapo-gu, Seoul in the early morning of the 11th./ Photo = Yonhap News
Q. You were elected in a difficult area. How do you feel?
“I am so grateful. It was a harder fight than I thought. The roots of 40 years of Democratic Party politics were deep. It felt like there was no end to the waves, but we won thanks to the wise choices of the voters.”
Q. What were the factors that led to your victory?
“Lee Ji-eun, candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, came and said that she was a ’20-year Mapo person.’ However, I think the people of Mapo were more touched by the pledge I made as a freshman in Mapo than by that story. Also, my (21st National Assembly) legislative activities After watching, there were many people who said, ‘This government deserves a beating, but I chose Jo Jeong-hoon because of him’ when they said hello to the winner yesterday. I think they saved my life because they felt sorry for me.”
Q. How will Mapo, where Jo Jeong-hoon came from, change in the future?
“I want to create a miracle with 599 votes. I narrowly won, but shouldn’t I represent all 140,000 voters? I have already started working to make my pledge come true. It will be a lot different. Very realistically and specifically, I can do it. I only presented the pledges. Education will improve, construction of the Han River underground will begin during my term, 7 to 8 redevelopment complexes symbolized by Gongdeok-dong will accelerate, and the Gyeongui Line Forest Road, which we love, will be further improved and expanded. . So, I will make sure to receive the comment, ‘We did a good job of making changes.’ The Democratic Party always criticizes us as a ‘party of the rich.’ This election revealed that if there are a lot of middle-class and rich people, they will vote for us. We have to somehow make the region prosper. .The Democratic Party will have opposing incentives. I will move forward without hesitation.”
Q. You are now a re-elected member of parliament with a constituency. What role will you play within the party?
“We lost three times in the general election. When it gets to this point, we don’t just lose. This is a structural loss. If we don’t do anything, we will lose again in the future. I’m talking about the election structure. In the end, we are still two parties, but the way we conduct elections and the way we nominate , The way they deal with elections. Lastly, I don’t know how to express this, but I think there was a difference in the earnestness to win.
There must be deep reflection on why we lost, and specific lessons and improvement plans on what needs to be fixed. Without this, it is meaningless no matter who becomes the new party leader. Has there been a time or two when you had high hopes for the new party leader and were disappointed? Therefore, it must become a winning party, or in other words, a party with high approval ratings. “I want to play a role in making this a winning party.”
Q. After suffering a crushing defeat in the last general election, I did some self-reflection. A general election white paper was also released…
“If I get the chance this time, I would like to serve as the head of the white paper for the general election.” People Power Party lawmaker Cho Jeong-hoon is being interviewed by the Korea Economic Daily at the National Assembly Hall on November 16 last year. / Photo = Byun Seong-hyeon, Hankyung.com reporter
Q. Regarding the crushing defeat in the general election, there is a lot of discussion within the party about responsibility for President Yoon Seok-yeol.
“I don’t think that’s true. The election was held by the People Power Party. I think the desperation to win was lacking compared to the Democratic Party. In the process, didn’t the President’s policies or handling of the medical school quota help? They should have actively talked about it. They are not on the same team if they stay quiet during the election and speak freely after being elected because their term of office will be longer than that of the president.
As I said before, the system needs to change. There are only more unfavorable elections ahead. There will be local elections in 2026. (President) This is the fourth year of his term. How difficult can it be? There will be a presidential election in 2027 and a general election in 2028. The general election is just one year after the presidential election. There will be major elections in 2026, 2027, and 2028. If you win the local election, you will have an advantage in the presidential election, and if you win the presidential election, you will sweep the general election as well. Ultimately, the question is how can we become a winning party for the remaining time? I keep emphasizing this, but if you only believe in this formula: conservative party = party of the rich, conservative = Gangnam, conservative = Yeongnam, conservative = man, you will lose again. Haven’t you lost so far? How can we create a conservative = middle class and working class, conservative = Chungcheong and Honam? Why do you think they can only win by 1/3 in the metropolitan area? Why can’t they win a majority in the metropolitan area? (You need to think about it.) The party that sweeps the metropolitan area seems cooler and more capable.
In particular, Mapo is the first neighborhood to be hit by the wind blowing from Yeouido. When campaigning, mornings are different and evenings are different. I think we need to transform into a political party focused on the metropolitan area. The core of the winning party is the majority party in the metropolitan area. If you have a majority in the metropolitan area, you cannot lose. “We must make it a party that wins in the metropolitan area.”
Q. Having experienced the 21st National Assembly, what do you expect from the 22nd National Assembly?
“It will be more bloody (than the 21st National Assembly). In the 21st National Assembly, the idea of holding a presidential election and giving a new president a chance worked, but now I think the wind of regime change will blow differently and stronger every day. That’s why it’s rough and it’s based on camp logic. It will be a dominated politics.
The Democratic Party will lead the National Assembly, and I hope that they can solve some big problems that will help the people’s lives, if only for the sake of their plan for taking power. I wish the Democratic Party would come up with a plan for pension reform or labor reform. And the really important issue of low birth rate is something that the National Assembly must drive through. If these things are done, the People Power Party has no reason to oppose, and should not oppose. We will also come up with our own reform plan, so I hope that if there is a better alternative, we will provide it instead of unconditionally opposing it just because we propose it. Let’s do at least two or three things like that. “Then, I think it is inevitable that we will fight at the end of the National Assembly’s term, ahead of the ‘all or nothing’ presidential election.”
Q. What would you like to do as a ‘representative of the people’ in the 22nd National Assembly?
“Politics of hope. Politics can give hope to the people. In words and writing, in messages and actions. As I hold my first local election, our people demand everything from politicians, including skills and cleanliness, but there is a thread of hope. I sensed that he wanted to find something. Because life is so difficult. Whether you are self-employed, office workers, or business people, it is difficult, so you expect hope from politicians. I make sure to send that message, ‘A politician you can look forward to.’ “I want to give it to you.”
Q. Lastly, what would you like to say to voters?
“I hope you don’t give up on politics. Isn’t there a saying that if you give up on politics, you will be ruled by the lowest-class people? Mapo had a high voter turnout, with a voter turnout of 71%, but still, about 30% did not vote. More I hope many people vote, and I hope they don’t give up on politics. 47% of voters who didn’t vote for me will say after 4 years, ‘Jung-hoon Jo was still okay. Although I didn’t vote for him, I’ll think about it next time he comes out. It’s worth voting for. “I will grit my teeth and work hard to gain that trust.”
Seulgi Lee, Hankyung.com reporter seulkee@hankyung.com
