Seungrae Cho Says Interpreting President Lee's 'Responsibility for Ruling Party' Message as Targeting Leadership Is a Distortion

“Emphasizing Responsibility in Governance”

Seungrae Cho, Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated on June 14 that interpreting President Jaemyung Lee's message—emphasizing the ruling party's responsibility—as being aimed at the leadership of Cheongrae Jeong is "a distortion of the President's intent."

Seungrae Cho, Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

During a press briefing at the National Assembly on this day, Secretary-General Cho clarified, "Rather than targeting any specific individual or the leadership, I understand it as an emphasis on the need for the ruling party to govern the nation with a sense of responsibility, especially regarding its attitude after the local elections."

The previous day, President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, "The ruling party should not abandon its convictions, but must focus more on the 'language of responsibility' than the language of conviction."

Secretary-General Cho further remarked, "I believe the President was reaffirming his own determination, referencing Max Weber's concept of responsible politics. If one misinterprets the President's intent in this way, it actually narrows the President's broader vision. I do not think it is appropriate, and it could be seen as using the President for other political purposes."

He added, "In the bigger picture, our party will see its leadership change twice over the four-year term. It is more appropriate to regard the President's message as addressing, overall, what kind of mindset the leadership should have as it reorganizes internal debates and manages the party moving forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.