Cho Seung-rae, secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Korea, argued Friday that interpreting President Lee's message emphasizing the ruling party's accountability as criticism of party leader Jung Chung-rae amounts to "distorting the president's intent."
Cho held a press briefing at the National Assembly that day, stressing the point. "The president's remarks emphasized accountability regarding the attitude the ruling party should take after the local elections, rather than targeting a specific individual or specific leadership," he said.
"Interpretations can vary, but narrowing the approach to a specific figure distorts the president's intent, and misconstruing it narrows the president's broader purpose," he explained. "Concluding that it was an attack on the leadership can only be seen as using it for political purposes."
President Lee, who is visiting Italy, posted an article titled "The Ruling Party, the Opposition, and Political Responsibility" on X on Thursday. "The ruling party has already succeeded in taking power and must take full responsibility for the nation's future and the lives of all citizens, and it pursues re-election through achievements proven by results," he wrote. Lee's unusual reference to domestic politics during his overseas trip prompted a flood of analysis describing it as "aimed at the Jung Chung-rae leadership."
Cho also voiced opposition to the argument that the leadership bears responsibility for the local elections. "People commonly say, 'We lost because we lost Seoul, and Honam was too chaotic,' and that is true," he said. "However, in this local election overall, 3,192 candidates ran and 2,292 were elected, recording a record win rate of around 72 percent. This must also be evaluated together." Cho added, "We lost the Seoul mayoral race, but the 25 district mayor positions were completely reversed compared to 2022 (when the People Power Party held many of them)," stressing that "an evaluation based on data, going beyond what is merely apparent on the surface, is needed."
