Jung Chung-rae says he never called anyone 'legitimate heir' to past presidents

Jung Chung-rae, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said Tuesday he had never personally claimed anyone was the rightful political heir to past presidents and had no intention of doing so.

In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, Jung said he had never argued that any particular figure was the "legitimate successor" of any former president. "As I made clear in my farewell remarks, I said we should carry on the legacy of four presidents," he added.

"I respected President Kim Dae-jung, I loved President Roh Moo-hyun, and I liked President Moon Jae-in," Jung wrote. "I only said that President Lee Jae Myung and I are comrades and fellow soldiers. What is the problem with that?"

He said he hoped others would stop playing along with media framing that imagines and distorts things he never said into a debate over who is or is not a "legitimate heir." "I am simply someone who respects President Kim Dae-jung, loves President Roh Moo-hyun, likes President Moon Jae-in, and wants to remain a comrade and fellow soldier of President Lee Jae Myung," he wrote.

The dispute arose after Song Young-gil, another former party leader, recently pushed back on Jung's emphasis on being a "Roh Moo-hyun kid." Song claimed Jung could not credibly make that claim, alleging that Jung had fallen out with the late president and had not attended his funeral.

Jung fired back, calling the claim "100 percent false" and demanding an apology. Song then walked back his remarks, saying he had seen an interview in which Jung explained he had been in China at the time and attended the following day. Song said he would correct his statement and apologized.

Even so, Song continued to criticize Jung, saying Jung had been at the forefront of fierce opposition within the Democratic Party to the Korea-US free trade agreement that President Roh had pursued.