Pressure on Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae to step down over the party's loss in Seoul has gained less momentum than expected, even though the party won 12 of the 16 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial races in the June 3 local elections. Notably, the Supreme Council members who had directly attacked Jung in official meetings such as Supreme Council sessions have refrained from public criticism. No public criticism of Jung emerged at the lawmakers' general meeting held Thursday either.
① Angry property sentiment is directed at the Lee Jae-myung government, not Jung Chung-rae
One Democratic Party lawmaker explained that the reason was that the Seoul loss stemmed from property market sentiment. "Can the responsibility for the Seoul mayoral election be placed entirely on leader Jung?" he said. "Property sentiment is critical public opinion toward the government, not toward leader Jung or the Democratic Party leadership." Another lawmaker said, "It is possible to point out that the leadership got caught up in the Honam election and neglected campaigning in Seoul." But he added, "However, analyses are emerging that the cause of the defeat was property sentiment, and it is difficult to push this onto leader Jung as his fault."
② The backlash over withdrawing President Lee's charges is also the fault of the 'true loyalists,' not Jung Chung-rae
The push to withdraw the prosecution of President Lee Jae-myung, cited as another factor in the defeat, is also difficult to attribute to Jung's responsibility. The lawmakers who advocated withdrawing the charges against President Lee were pro-Lee lawmakers who forced through a parliamentary investigation before the June 3 local elections. Although there were initially arguments that it should be pursued after the June 3 local elections given concerns about a backlash, they persuaded figures including floor leader Han Byung-do and pushed through the parliamentary investigation before the election, providing the seed for conservative consolidation.
③ Winning 12 races including Busan and Ulsan
The fact that the party won 12 races, including Busan and Ulsan, is also a factor that makes it difficult to intensively raise questions about Jung's responsibility. In addition, with Jung announcing that he would compile a white paper on the local elections to review the entire campaign process, critical opinion appears to be settling down.
④ No capacity to criticize after losing their own districts
Rep. Hwang Myung-sun, who had publicly criticized Jung, lost in the mayoral elections for Nonsan and Gyeryong, his own constituency. Rep. Lee Eon-ju is also not free from responsibility for the defeat of Hyun Geun-taek, the Yongin mayoral candidate. A Democratic Party official explained, "If you lose the basic-level local government election in your own district, you have no choice but to focus your energy on analyzing your region for the next general election." He added, "It is natural to lie low."
However, the level of criticism toward Jung is bound to rise as the party convention gets into full swing. One lawmaker said, "There is a time for criticism." He added, "When the party convention comes, the voices of those dissatisfied with leader Jung are bound to burst out."
