Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said the party will field candidates in all districts for the parliamentary by-elections held alongside the June 3 local elections. This appears to rebut the Rebuilding Korea Party's claim that the Democratic Party should not field candidates in districts where it bears responsibility.
On the morning of the 10th, at a field meeting of the party's top council held at the main branch of Damyang Nonghyup in Damyang County, South Jeolla Province, Jung said, "There has been a lot of back-and-forth lately about the by-elections, but Democratic Party candidates will run in all districts," adding, "Strategic nominations are the principle."
He added, "For the parliamentary by-elections, the principle is to nominate in all districts without exception," and said, "Once the local election nominations are completed, we will proceed with nominations swiftly. For the parliamentary by-elections, time is physically short, and for various reasons, primaries are difficult."
Earlier, the Rebuilding Korea Party argued, "The Democratic Party must reaffirm the principle that it will not nominate in districts where problems arose due to its own fault." Districts holding by-elections due to the fault of Democratic Party lawmakers include Ansan-gap, Gyeonggi; Pyeongtaek-eul, Gyeonggi; and Gunsan-Gimje-Buan-gap, North Jeolla.
Damyang County, which Jung visited that day, is also the area where the Rebuilding Korea Party won the county chief seat in a by-election for a basic local government head last year. Some interpret the rollout of "nominating in all districts for the by-elections" in a place that yielded its chief executive to the Rebuilding Korea Party as drawing a line against that party's demand.
Jung apologized for the confusion caused recently by an official letter banning the use of President Lee Jae-myung's photos and videos. He also stressed that the letter was issued by the party without consultation with the presidential office.
Jung said, "Some time ago, we sent an official letter to candidates regarding the president's videos and photos, which caused confusion," adding, "Originally, it was sent to avoid causing trouble for President Lee, but instead it caused many problems for the president."
He went on, "This was done by the party, not in consultation with the presidential office," and added, "It is an internal party matter, and as party leader, I apologize to President Lee for causing trouble."