As regional primaries are underway ahead of the Democratic Party's national convention on the 17th, party leadership candidate Chung Cheong-rae has found himself embroiled in an unexpected controversy regarding his ties to "Nosamo."
Candidate Chung has repeatedly emphasized his roots as a member of "Nosamo," stating during recent convention primaries and televised TV debates for party leader candidates that "only those who have kept loyalty know how to keep it." In response, the Nosamo camp has directly and publicly criticized these remarks.
Dalbaragi, the final leader of the Association of People Who Love Roh Moo-hyun, commonly known as "Nosamo," issued a statement of condemnation yesterday (August 6) regarding the alleged unauthorized use of the "Nosamo" name and its symbolic items, urging, "Do not defame the name of 'Nosamo.'"
The "Nosamo" side pointed out, "It is a historical distortion, political deception, and a painful contradiction for a faction that supported Chung Dong-young starting in 2007 and directly clashed with 'Nosamo' to now posture as if they represent the entirety of 'Nosamo' for their own political necessity and expansion of influence."
The "faction" referred to here is an abbreviation for "People Communicating with Chung Dong-young." The critique implies that after leading the launch of an organization supporting Chung Dong-young—who ran as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2007—Candidate Chung is belatedly acting as a "pro-Roh (Moo-hyun)" figure.
The statement emphasized, "There is not even 1 percent of representativeness or legitimacy of the entire 'Nosamo' in the political actions of splinter factions that parted ways with 'Nosamo' right after the 2002 presidential election and split into groups like 'Jeongtong'."
Earlier yesterday, Candidate Chung posted a message on his social media saying, "I will win with the spirit of 'Nosamo.' Only after the flowers fell did I realize it was spring." Last July, he visited the grave of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, stating that he is from "Nosamo."
"Nosamo" officially dissolved all of its organizations back in 2019.
It has been confirmed that 300 former members of "Nosamo" have participated in this statement of condemnation so far.
Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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