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Chung Dae-chul defects from Minjoo Party of Korea leaving his son

Chung Dae-chul defects from Minjoo Party of Korea leaving his son

Posted January. 16, 2016 09:34,   

Updated January. 19, 2016 13:57

한국어

Chung Dae-chul, a senior advisor of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, defected from the party on Friday along with 40 others.

"At this rate, I do not see any hope for winning the next presidential election and reaching a transfer of power," Chung told the press conference. "I will become the catalyst of the merger of the opposition parties." This statement indicates that he will remain as a third party and lead the merger.

"I cannot separate the history of Korean opposition parties from the history of my family," said Chung with mixed feelings. His father, Dr. Chung Il-hyung, was a lawmaker for eight terms and the vice president of the New Democratic Party; the former body of the Minjoo Party. His son, Chung Ho-joon, is a first-timer Minjoo Party lawmaker who took over his father`s area, which is Jung-gu, Seoul. The family has produced three generations of politicians for a total of 14 terms.

Chung Dae-chul`s defection will cause the father and the son to go separate ways from now on. For his father`s press interview, Chung Ho-joon reserved the conference hall under his name. That was because only current lawmakers can reserve that conference hall. However, Chung Ho-joon did not come to the conference. The only lawmaker who came was Moon Byung-ho. Moon jokingly claimed to be ahead of Chung when it comes to party defection. When asked about his son`s stand, Chung Dae-chul answered by saying, "I am still trying to change my son`s mind, but the final decision is up to him." Chung Ho-joon also remarked in another interview, "I have no plan to leave the party at this point."



kilo@donga.com