[Joo Young-jin's News Briefing]
When quoting this interview, please credit the program 'SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing>' accurately. Copyright belongs to SBS.
■ Broadcast: SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing> Mon–Fri (14:00–15:20)
■ Host: Joo Young-jin, Anchor
■ Guest: Jeong Min-cheol, Preliminary Candidate for Democratic Party Supreme Council Member
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● <Jeong Min-cheol, Preliminary Candidate for Democratic Party Supreme Council Member>
"Aiming to raise the election deposit through small donations from citizens"
"Taking action to return funds due to potential Political Funds Act issues, undergoing necessary procedures"
"Donation accounts can only be opened when the preliminary primary ends... virtually impossible to receive donations"
"Guilt over violating the Political Funds Act, combined with family issues regarding 'relatives'... regretful tears"
"Reason for running for the Supreme Council? To build a 'cultural front' for the Democratic Party"
"People Power Party approached the 2030 generation with 'content' to persuade them... Democratic Party has none"
"Democratic Party must change and perfectly establish a cultural front"
"Gave a speech on Park's impeachment in middle school... always had a strong interest in politics"
"Highly sympathize and agree with the policy direction of Lee Jae-myung"
"Democratic Party has become part of the establishment and lazy... no persuasion or explanation"
"No communication from the Jung Chung-rae leadership when I was Vice Chair of the Policy Committee... Kim Min-seok offers politics that deliver results"
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[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: We have with us today's key figure in political news, Jeong Min-cheol, a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party's Supreme Council. Welcome.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol / Preliminary Candidate for Democratic Party Supreme Council Member: Hello.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Hello.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: I am Candidate No. 7, Jeong Min-cheol.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Candidate No. 7. First, we have to talk about that YouTube video. It seems you were overwhelmed with emotion while speaking. What made you suddenly shed tears like that?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: First of all, it was my fault. I shouldn't have shown those emotions. Even looking back at it just an hour later, I couldn't bear to watch it. It is very embarrassing. But at that time, the issue was that the announcement was posted just 29 hours before candidate registration began. However, the election deposit had been increased fourfold. For a candidate running in an election, the deposit isn't the only expense. As a team leader, you have to budget and spend on various other costs. That created a huge problem for me. So, I thought, "Let's try to raise the deposit democratically by receiving small donations from citizens, just like lawmakers do." But about a minute after posting it, I realized, "Oh, this is wrong. This could be an issue," and deleted it. Sure enough, it posed a problem under the Political Funds Act. So, I immediately started the refund process and have been taking the necessary steps while continuously consulting with the National Election Commission (NEC). In the process, there was an email sent by the NEC. Under the Political Funds Act, extra-parliamentary candidates, excluding lawmakers, cannot receive donations to pay their election deposits. Furthermore, even after the preliminary primary begins, young candidates do not have a high probability of making it to the main primary. Yet, the system is structured such that donation accounts with the NEC can practically only be opened when the preliminary primary ends. Under these circumstances, where young extra-parliamentary candidates can virtually receive no donations, there was one final sentence that stood out: "Receiving money from relatives shall not be punished." Because of my difficult family history, I recently paid off tens of millions of won in debt incurred by my parents. Being in that situation, that sentence really struck a chord with me. So, the guilt of violating the Political Funds Act, combined with my family's financial situation, caused those emotions to surface. I regret it deeply.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Even if you regret it, the video was made public and many people saw it. In fact, it even moved the President. He mentioned that he doesn't understand why the deposit was raised so much. It seems there is a possibility this might be revised. What are your thoughts?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: First of all, the President's remarks seem to stem from his perspective as a political senior—one who has tried to break down the walls of the establishment. He likely felt regret that the spirit of the publicly managed election system, which was implemented during Lee Jae-myung's time as party leader, has now disappeared from the Democratic Party. Following that, the Democratic Party's election commission announced they would re-discuss the matter. However, I have no idea because I don't have any information. But if I advance to the main primary, the results will be announced on Thursday. As far as I know, the results are announced in the evening, and candidates must pay an additional 25 million won in deposits within 90 minutes. I don't know if it will be possible to open a donation account by then. Given these circumstances, I hope the party's election commission will take these issues into consideration.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Since there was no prior notification about the deposit, was there no explanation from the Democratic Party as to why they raised it so much?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: There was no explanation. I don't know how it turned out this way, but it is regrettable.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: I see. In any case, this situation has become an unexpected variable for Candidate Jeong Min-cheol, a young politician who had been marching forward since declaring his candidacy. But you will have to overcome this, right?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: That's right.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: You can't give up because of this.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Exactly.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Then, what was the decisive reason that made you decide to run for the Supreme Council?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: The path our Democratic Party needs to take seems very clear right now. A prime example is the cultural war. Recently, SisaIN conducted a voter perception survey after the local elections. They surveyed perceptions on a wide variety of social issues. I was listening to the presentation summarizing those findings at a National Assembly forum. One thing was crystal clear: on every social issue, the People Power Party (PPP) and the far-right camp created their own framing and produced videos explaining why the Democratic Party is bad or wrong. I could remember the symbolic content associated with each person. However, the Democratic Party had absolutely nothing on any of the issues. There was no content, no explanation, no logic, and no persuasion. This is what I want to say. Many party members and politicians ask, "Why doesn't the 2030 generation support the Democratic Party? Furthermore, how could they vote for the People Power Party?" I want to make this very clear. The PPP tried to persuade, tried to explain, and spoke out by any means necessary, even through instigation. In doing so, they approached the youth generation through content. But content doesn't just appeal to the youth; it resonates across all generations. In that cultural front, the PPP was present and fierce. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party left it completely blank. Therefore, in a way, the current situation and the downward trend of our party's approval ratings might just be a natural consequence. That is why, as we head into a long race from this national convention to the next general election and presidential election, I believe the Democratic Party must change and perfectly establish a cultural front. This is why I decided to run for the Supreme Council.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Candidate Jeong Min-cheol was born in 2001.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: That's correct.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: And your university is the Korea National...
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS).
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Korea National University of Arts. That seems like a different field from politics, one that would lead to the arts, like becoming a writer. Why did you jump into politics? Was politics always your dream, or was there a decisive moment that made you realize how important politics is and prompted you to join?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Since I was young, my parents bought me a lot of biographies of great historical figures. As I read them, I noticed a common plot: a person is born, grows up to do something for society, dies, and leaves a legacy behind. That is the typical plot of a biography.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Right, right.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Because of that, I grew up thinking, "What can I do for society?" So, I was actually always more interested in politics than art. When I was in middle school during the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, I gave speeches at school about why President Park should be impeached and tried to persuade my friends. That is how interested I was in politics. I briefly did art, but when it came to university, I interviewed and entered the school to study cultural policy. So, in a way, I feel I am walking the path I was meant to take.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: You also worked on a task force addressing hate speech at the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: That's correct.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: So you've been naturally aligned with the Democratic Party. There are various parties like the Democratic Party, the People Power Party, the Progressive Party, the Justice Party, and of course, the Rebuilding Korea Party, which was formed during the last election. Why did you decide that you must choose the Democratic Party?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Back in middle school, when I first got deeply involved in politics, I actually preferred the Justice Party of the late Representative Roh Hoe-chan. Reading so many articles, I was highly interested in how to approach social issues like human rights and solidarity with the weak. As I grew up, my thoughts expanded, and I started asking what South Korea should do in the era of AI. In that regard, the Democratic Party can play a major role in the country's future. I highly agree with a very large part of what Lee Jae-myung has been doing since his time as party leader. This ranges from policies that the right-wing camp criticizes as "handouts" or "populism"—which act like narcotic painkillers—to initiatives like the three mega-projects that aim to grow alongside corporations. Fundamentally, I strongly agree with these directions. I even agree on real estate policy, believing that the jeonse (lump-sum deposit) system is a form of private finance unique to South Korea, and that it acts as a structure supporting and keeping Seoul's housing prices from falling. I already held these views. As I continued my activities as a political influencer, I realized that what Lee Jae-myung's leadership is trying to solve is highly similar to what I wanted to address. This made me think that I should firmly protect and promote his vision.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Everyone seems to agree with the diagnosis that the Democratic Party has become unpopular among the younger generation, and this is not a recent development. As a politician of that same generation, you probably feel this more than anyone. You even wrote a book.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: That's correct.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: "The Arrival of the 1020 Far-Right." However, quite a few people disagree with the assessment that they have become far-right. They argue that the youth simply dislike the Democratic Party. What is your view?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: First of all, the title is "The Far-Right is Coming." This means there are people who have become far-right, and they hold a significant presence in the content of the cultural war I mentioned. They generate massive views, which gives them influence, so I summarized those phenomena. Of course, I do not agree with the diagnosis that the entire youth generation has become far-right. However, what I want to emphasize is that the Democratic Party is currently not welcomed by either 2030 men or women. In fact, a recent survey by Korea Women's Political Solidarity showed that "2030 women are not pro-Democratic, but rather anti-People Power Party, and they are swing voters." This shows that the core values of the Democratic Party—such as standing in solidarity with the weak, sometimes implementing pro-business policies to develop society, pursuing stock market value-up and normalization policies, revising the Commercial Act, and amending the Yellow Envelope Act—all have their respective reasons. Yet, the Democratic Party has become somewhat lazy, which is why people say it has become part of the establishment. It doesn't explain, it doesn't persuade, and it doesn't market or brand itself. As a result, the youth, who experience the world through content, end up asking, "What on earth is the Democratic Party doing? Why are they doing this? Why abolish the National Security Act? Are they spies?" Therefore, if the next party leadership completely shifts gears to strongly build a cultural front, brand, and market itself, only then can the weakening values of minorities and progressives in our society be revived, and the Democratic Party can achieve its value as a ruling party.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Listening to you, there's something I don't quite understand. It seems Democratic Party politicians use social media much more than People Power Party politicians.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: I don't agree with that.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Is it different from that?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: I beg to differ. It might be because I am active on Instagram.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Instagram.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: The younger generation uses Instagram; they virtually do not use Facebook. However, Democratic Party politicians seem to stay more on Facebook. If you look at Instagram, lawmakers like Kim Eun-hye and Joo Jin-woo are very active. Representative Joo Jin-woo is using language that makes you wonder if he is really a lawmaker. Representative Han Dong-hoon is also working hard, and the same goes for Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo and Representative Jang Dong-hyuk. In contrast, there are surprisingly few Democratic Party politicians who run their social media that way for political engagement. I believe the solution to the problem lies right here.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: You have been working as the Vice Chair of the Policy Committee under the leadership of Representative Jung Chung-rae, correct?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Yes.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: That means you worked with Representative Jung Chung-rae. There are many opinions evaluating that the party-presidency relationship has been creaking over the past year of his leadership, though Representative Jung does not acknowledge this. How do you evaluate it? Is this one of the reasons you decided to run?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: It is indeed one of the reasons I decided to run. Most notably, last year I ran for the Democratic Party's ordinary member Supreme Council position. It was an audition format, and because I made it to the finals, there was talk of a party post, and I was appointed as Vice Chair of the Policy Committee. The critical point is that I thought the Jung Chung-rae leadership was only failing to communicate with me or the Policy Committee. But I heard that even sitting lawmakers in the National Assembly have never had proper communication with him. They said there was never any debate even during general assemblies of lawmakers; Representative Jung Chung-rae would just talk by himself until it was time to enter the plenary session. During my time as Vice Chair of the Policy Committee, I was never asked for my opinion, never had my feedback conveyed to the leadership, and never had any communication with them. In that sense, many people in the party feel that we cannot win the next general election under Jung Chung-rae's leadership. I share the exact same sentiment.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: There are other candidates running for party leader. Is there any candidate among them whom you support?
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: I recently found a clear reason. I attended a youth forum hosted by party leader candidate Kim Min-seok as a presenter. At that time, I said that we must fight a cultural war, that the Democratic Party had left this area completely blank, and that we must utilize all of the party's resources and personnel. The very next day, Candidate Kim Min-seok announced his four major reform proposals, and my points were fully integrated into his remarks—whether it was impromptu or part of his speech. Seeing that gave me a great sense of efficacy. I realized that under the next party leadership led by Kim Min-seok, the seeds of the cultural war I advocated for would definitely be planted and pushed forward. Ultimately, young people have no choice but to support politicians who deliver a real sense of results.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Understood. That was our interview with Jeong Min-cheol, a candidate for the Democratic Party's Supreme Council. I will also keep a close eye on the results of the preliminary primary.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: It runs from Tuesday to Thursday.
[Anchor] Joo Young-jin: Tuesday to Thursday, indeed. I wish you the best of luck. Thank you for speaking with us.
[Interview] Jeong Min-cheol: Thank you.
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