'Those who invested in the 80% of falling shares are being ignored and dismissed'

'Go to the polls June 3 and choose No. 2, the People Power Party'

People Power Party standing election committee chairman Jang Dong-hyeok speaks at a press conference at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Saturday, ahead of the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]
People Power Party standing election committee chairman Jang Dong-hyeok speaks at a press conference at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Saturday, ahead of the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on Sunday called remarks by Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae "truly arrogant and dismissive of the public." Jung had urged voters to check their stock portfolios and vote Democratic if they were pleased.

Writing on his Facebook page Sunday, Jang said only 20 percent of shares on the market had risen in value. "No one is looking at the grief of the people who invested in the 80 percent that fell," he said.

Jang said Lee Jae Myung and the Democratic Party were ignoring far more than just stock investors, and went on to list them. "Those struggling with rising jeonse and wolse costs, those whose wages haven't kept up with inflation, those who can barely keep up with loan payments as interest rates climb, small-business owners on the verge of shutting down because raw materials prices have surged, small and medium-sized enterprise owners who can barely make payroll as the exchange rate rises, young people who can't find work no matter how many resumes they send out," he said. "Neither Lee Jae Myung, nor Jung Chung-rae, nor anyone in the Democratic Party gives a thought to the people living through hardship day after day."

"It is time for change," Jang said. "We must send a stern warning from the people. We must hold Lee Jae Myung and the Democratic Party accountable for destroying people's livelihoods."

He then warned that "if you don't vote, nothing will change. If you give up your vote, an even harsher hell will begin."

He urged the public to head to the polls on June 3 and added that "the choice is No. 2, the People Power Party."


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