Parties' election committees take flak for ill-advised recruitments

Roh Jae-seung, a young politician who had been appointed to a co-chair post of the election committee of the main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, announces his resignation from the post, Thursday at the National Assembly in Seoul, after facing strong criticism over his inappropriate remarks on politically sensitive issues. Joint Press Corps

By Jung Da-min

The presidential election committees of the major parties are facing criticism for their “thoughtless” addition of personnel to the organizations without fully verifying their past records on and offline.

The latest setback in personnel appointments came from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) as Roh Jae-seung, who had been appointed as a co-chairman of the election committee, stepped down from the post on Thursday, only three days after being appointed, over his recent online remarks defaming the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, humiliating the victims of the tragic event and those who lost loved ones as well as those supportive of the country's democratization movement.

Roh had been embroiled in controversy earlier due to his remarks disparaging those in the low income bracket, saying they take advantage of poverty to political ends in what was an indirect criticism of DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, who has garnered public support for his personal story of rising from his difficult beginnings as a poor factory worker.

Roh had gained popularity for his speech during the campaign period for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, supporting Oh Se-hoon, the PPP candidate who was elected as Seoul mayor, in which he presented a perspective of young voters, introducing himself as an ordinary 37-year-old man who happened to deliver the speech by chance.

After the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) crushing defeat by the PPP in the April 7 by-elections, which could be seen as barometer of public opinion ahead of the presidential election to be held next March, political watchers have noted that the percentage of those who voted for Oh was higher among men in their 20s and 30s. The political parties here have since been in fierce competition to appeal to these young voters, upon observations that they have now become swing voters unlike in the past when they were considered to be mainly supporters of the country's liberal bloc.

It was not the first time an appointment to the conservative party's election committee backfired.

The PPP had raised controversy earlier on Dec. 5 over its appointment of dermatologist and TV personality Ham Ik-byeong as a co-chairman of its election committee, which it withdrew the same day immediately after facing criticism over Ham's past remarks disparaging women. Ham had said in a media interview in 2014 that women only deserve three quarters of the rights given to men as they do not perform mandatory military service, and that only women who deliver more than two babies deserve the same rights given to men.

Cho Dong-youn, a professor of Seokyeong University's Department of Military Studies, answers reporters' questions regarding her appointment as the standing co-chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Korea's election committee, during a press conference at the party's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul, Nov. 30. Cho resigned from the post, Dec. 3, after suffering political attacks over her private life. Joint Press Corps

Political parties' scouting of “iconic” figures without proper verification and follow-up to support their appointments have been a chronic problem in political circles. From the DPK's side, it had appointed Cho Dong-youn, a professor of Seokyeong University's Department of Military Studies, as the standing co-chairwoman position of Lee's election committee, Nov. 30, but she tendered her resignation just three days later, suffering political attacks over her private life, including having a child out of wedlock.