Jeong Cheong-rae, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, praised President Lee Jae-myung's diplomatic performance on Sunday, saying his diplomacy has been "record-setting."
"President Lee's diplomatic ability is contributing greatly to raising the nation's brand value," Jeong said at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. "We are a country that lives on exports, with an economic structure highly dependent on foreign relations," he said. "Diplomacy is more important than any other area."
Jeong noted that "we are now in a global era," adding that "when a war breaks out in the Middle East, it is not only the Middle East that suffers — the pain is immediately transmitted all the way here, to Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, South Korea." He then cited the successive state visits by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and French President Emmanuel Macron, saying, "The fact that foreign leaders are visiting Korea one after another proves that South Korea's national power has grown on the world stage."
Separately, Jeong expressed support for Woo Sang-ho, the party's first official nominee for the June 3 local elections and its candidate for Gangwon Province governor. "As a strong candidate from the ruling party, he will contribute greatly to the development of Gangwon Province," Jeong said. He also announced the formation of a Special Committee for Gangwon Development to pursue pledges for the province, appointing Woo as its standing chair.
"The party will actively support the path Woo Sang-ho takes," Jeong said, pledging swift realization of long-sought projects in Gangwon Province. Specifically, he said the party would "actively support and cooperate at the party level so that the Pocheon-Cheorwon expressway can be completed as soon as possible," and would "push ahead without delay on the extension of the Jungang Expressway connecting Chuncheon and Cheorwon, as promised." He added, "Gangwon residents may have felt left out due to the issues surrounding the integrated special cities of Daejeon-South Chungcheong and Daegu-North Gyeongsang, but we will make sure that does not happen."
Woo, who attended the Supreme Council meeting, said, "If I become governor, I will launch an emergency economic plan to create a leaping opportunity so that Gangwon Province's collapsing economy can make a dramatic recovery."