Cheon Ha-ram apologizes in Busan over controversial candidate nomination

Cheon Ha-ram, acting leader of the Reform Party, issued a formal apology to the citizens of Busan regarding the nomination of Jeong Yi-han, a former Busan mayoral candidate. The apology took place at the site where Jeong allegedly staged a self-inflicted attack involving a beverage throw.

Cheon expressed deep regret, stating that the party focused too heavily on fielding a candidate for the Busan mayoral race and failed to conduct sufficient verification during the nomination process. He noted that while an internal task force investigated the matter, they lacked the investigative authority to confirm direct links to the staged incident, though they did identify problematic past behaviors and excessive attempts at political unification.

The Reform Party is currently in a period of reorganization following the resignation of former leader Lee Jun-seok after poor results in the June 3 local elections, where the party secured only one local council seat out of 192 candidates.