The ruling People Power Party (PPP) canceled the nomination of Rep. Chung Woo-taik for next month's general elections after bribery allegations surfaced against him. Last month, a news report revealed CCTV footage of Chung receiving what appeared to be a white envelope of cash from an unidentified man and putting it inside his pocket at a cafe in the city of Chungju, 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Chung, also a deputy National Assembly speaker, claimed he returned the envelope back outside of the surveillance camera's field of view. But the man, who was later found to be the cafe's owner, argued the envelope was never returned. "We have come to the conclusion that the scandalous circumstances surrounding Chung do not meet the moral standards and the eye level of the people the PPP has emphasized throughout," the party's nomination committee said in a release. In a briefing to reporters, Jung Young-hwan, the PPP's nomination committee chief, did not confirm whether Chung actually received money or not, only saying it is a matter to be uncovered through an investigation. Chung expressed his frustration. "I am taken aback. I had not received any prior contact on the matter," he said in a call with Yonhap News Agency. "I've just submitted materials for explanation this morning; shouldn't they call me in and give me a chance to explain myself?" Following the cancellation, the nomination committee decided to recommend Seo Soung-woo, a former secretary to President Yoon Suk Yeol for political affairs, to replace Chung as a candidate for the Sangdang district in Chungju. Later in the day, the ruling party also canceled the nomination of lawyer Do Tae-woo who recently won the party ticket for a district in Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul. He has been under fire after revelations that he made remarks in 2019 suggesting the possibility of North Korea's involvement in a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju. Following the revelations, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon requested a review of Do's nomination but Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, one of the five co-chairs of the PPP's campaign committee, said the sincerity of Do's apologies is not something to be decided by the party's candidate nomination committee but by the people. Even after the apologies, the party found Do made inappropriate comments about two former presidents, Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in, at a conservative rally in August 2019. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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