Questions are being raised after Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae did not attend the opening ceremony of the campaign office for Ha Jung-woo, who is running in the Busan Buk-gap by-election with the party's nomination. Earlier, Jung said he recruited Ha after earnestly persuading him multiple times, but during a visit to Busan Buk-gap, Jung drew controversy for telling an elementary school student, "Try calling him 'oppa.'" Since then, some have interpreted that Ha has begun to "keep his distance" from Jung.
◇Ha Jung-woo on YouTube: "If it hadn't been the leader, it wouldn't have been this complicated"
The opening of Ha Jung-woo's campaign office was held on the 10th. On the 9th, the day before, Ha mentioned Jung Chung-rae's "oppa controversy" in a YouTube video. Ha said, "There was some history, and suddenly Leader Jung, next to me, put me in a situation where I had to be called 'oppa.'" On the 29th of last month, during a visit to Gupo Market in Busan with Ha, Jung sparked controversy by telling an elementary school child, "This is Jung-woo oppa. Try saying oppa." Ha, who was with him, also said "oppa."
Regarding this, Ha said on YouTube, "We should apologize," adding, "If it hadn't been the leader, it wouldn't have been this complicated." He went on, "Goodness, what 'oppa'? I should have said 'uncle,' but he's the leader, isn't he." In the end, Ha also said, "Just don't come."
A political source who watched the YouTube video said, "It looks like Ha is saying, 'I said oppa because Leader Jung told me to,' and 'I hope Leader Jung doesn't come to the Busan Buk-gu-gap campaign site going forward.'" Another source said, "It sounded as if Ha were saying, 'If someone as high as the party leader hadn't told me to, I wouldn't have said oppa either.'"
◇Democratic Party says "schedules overlapped, routes didn't match"
On the 10th, Leader Jung Chung-rae did not appear at the opening ceremony of Ha Jung-woo's campaign office. This was seen as unusual, compared with his direct attendance at the openings for Kim Boo-kyum, the Daegu mayoral candidate, and Kim Kyeong-soo, the South Gyeongsang gubernatorial candidate, as part of a strategy to court voters in the Yeongnam region.
Regarding Jung's absence from Ha's opening ceremony, the party leadership is warning against overinterpreting it. Democratic Party of Korea Secretary-General Cho Seung-rae told reporters, "The schedule was arranged around candidates' office openings, and as we focused on metropolitan-level candidates, the Busan schedule overlapped." He added, "Following Chun Jae-soo's Busan mayoral campaign office opening, attending again in succession (at Ha's opening) was difficult schedule-wise, and it was simply the flow of the route."
But inside and outside the party, the "oppa controversy" is being mentioned. A Democratic Party of Korea official said, "If Leader Jung were to step to the forefront, there was a judgment that the 'oppa controversy' would resurface and could burden local public sentiment." The account is that Jung did not attend based on the analysis that his presence at Ha's opening could worsen public sentiment in Busan.