DP satellite party candidate known for anti-America stance offers to withdraw candidacy

SEOUL, A candidate of a satellite party linked to the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) offered to withdraw her candidacy Tuesday amid mounting criticism over her past affiliations with radical left-wing groups with pro-North Korea and anti-U.S. tendencies. Jeon Ji-yeh announced her decision to step down as a proportional representative candidate of the DP's satellite party through a civic group that recommended her as a candidate for the party, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. Jeon apparently told the officials that the "spirit of the coalition politics was being undermined by her" and expressed worries that this could get the entire DP proportional representative coalition mired in controversy. Jeon is known to have worked for civic groups that strongly oppose the South Korea-U.S. alliance and staged campaigns in protest of the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system, among other anti-America activities. The DP has reportedly requested the satellite party reconsider Jeon's candidacy over her political career. Source: Yonhap News Agency