Ruling party says, "Jung Cheong-rae failed to vet special counsel nominee... We apologize for causing trouble for the President"

According to Financial News, Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Cheong-rae on the 8th apologized through the party spokesperson for recommending attorney Jeon Jun-cheol as the second comprehensive special prosecutor (special counsel). Jeon had previously defended former Ssangbangwool Group chairman Kim Sung-tae in the trial over President of South Korea Lee Jae-myung’s alleged illegal remittances to North Korea.
At a press briefing at the National Assembly the same day, chief spokesperson Park Su-hyeon stated, "Leader Jung believes that the controversy surrounding the President of South Korea’s appointment authority over the comprehensive special prosecutor, which was exercised after considering various factors, stems from the party’s failure in personnel vetting, and he is sorry for causing trouble for the President."
Park acknowledged, "Even if the candidate recommended by the party had tried to resist and correct the wrongdoings of the Yoon Suk Yeol prosecution service, and was a prosecutor who was persecuted by Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol, our failure to scrutinize him more thoroughly was a failure of vetting."
He went on to stress, "To prevent a recurrence, we will work to strengthen the party’s vetting procedures, including diversifying the channels through which candidates are recommended, enhancing transparency, and separating the functions of recommendation and review."
Regarding internal criticism that the special counsel candidate was recommended without discussion at the party’s supreme council, Park said, "Fundamentally, recommendations are a matter for the parliamentary caucus," but added, "I deeply regret and apologize that we did not follow a better procedure."
He continued, "As far as I know, only the rough deadline for making a recommendation was shared with the supreme council members, and the candidate’s personal details were not reported," adding, "Had we sought broader recommendations and exchanged views through Representative Kim Yong-min, the Democratic Party of Korea secretary on the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, we might have avoided such complacency. I regret that we did not."
Meanwhile, on the same day, responding to Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk’s demand that the Democratic Party of Korea present its position on a merger by February 13, when the Lunar New Year holiday begins, Park said, "Leader Jung will, if at all possible, quickly finalize and announce his position on pursuing a merger."
gowell@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter