'Really embarrassing. Democratic Party defeat,' actor writes on social media

Actor Han Jung-su. [Newsis · Instagram]
Actor Han Jung-su. [Newsis · Instagram]

Actor Han Jung-su drew attention Thursday after calling on the Democratic Party of Korea to "reflect" on its performance in the June 3 local elections.

Han wrote on his social media account Thursday: "Democratic Party, please reflect. This local election is one the Democratic Party lost. Instead of focusing on the election, you were consumed by internal power struggles."

He added, "Really embarrassing. Democratic Party defeat."

In the elections, the ruling Democratic Party won 12 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial races but lost the Seoul mayoral contest, the Busan Buk-gu-gap National Assembly by-election and the Gyeonggi Province Pyeongtaek-eul Assembly re-election — all considered key battlegrounds. The party also fell short in Daegu, where it had hoped to elect the city's first Democratic mayor, and won only the Ulsan and Busan mayoral races. In Seoul's district mayor elections, the party won 18 of 25 seats — a weaker showing compared with its near-sweep in 2018, when it took 23 of 25, losing only Seocho-gu.

On May 30, Han encouraged early voting, posting a photo of himself in blue — the color associated with the Democratic Party — and writing: "Today is the last day of early voting! Time is running out. Just bring your ID to any nearby polling station. Let's go."

Han has appeared in the drama series "Chuno," "Prosecutor Princess" and "Arang and the Magistrate."


jshan@heraldcorp.com