Jung Chung-rae vows objective white paper on local elections, urges party unity behind Lee government

Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae on Friday announced that the party would publish an official white paper offering an objective assessment of the June 3 local elections and National Assembly by-elections.

Speaking at a general assembly of lawmakers at the National Assembly, Jung said the party had agreed through a Supreme Council meeting to establish a formal evaluation committee and produce the white paper. "Election reviews can be done at the individual level, but it is right to systematize them," he said.

Jung said the committee would draw on both internal and external perspectives to ensure objectivity. "We will bring in one outside figure and one inside figure as co-chairs of the joint evaluation committee to carry out the white paper work," he said.

Jung also congratulated the newly elected lawmakers who won seats in the by-elections, but said he could not bring himself to celebrate fully. "Now that I am party leader, I fully understand the feeling behind President Lee Jae Myung's unsmiling face during the general election," he said. "Applauding, cheering and congratulating the winners matters, but I could not smile when I thought of those who fell short and are hurting — Kim Boo-kyum in Daegu, Oh Jung-ki in North Gyeongsang Province and others." He went on to say the party should do more to console its defeated candidates. "I hope we take a moment to think of them once more," he said.

Jung, regarded as an original loyalist of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, quoted Roh to call for cohesion among ruling party lawmakers. "The line from Roh's words that I hold most deeply in my heart is: 'A politician must always meet the public at eye level — but what matters even more is meeting history at eye level,'" he said. "History does not move in a straight line, but it never retreats. The same has been true of democracy in Korea's modern history."

Jung doubled down on his call for unity, invoking the image of a river and the sea. "A river does not give up on the sea. The sea embraces the river because it is wider and deeper," he said. "We must have hearts as wide as the sea and accept our differences. The party, the government and the presidential office must all unite as one team with one voice for the success of the Lee Jae Myung government — and must continue to do so going forward."