Democratic Party of Korea chairmanship candidate Jeong Cheong-rae apologized after making another verbal gaffe in which he confused the names of President Lee Jae-myung and former President Lee Myung-bak during a campaign rally.

Candidate Jeong made the slip at a joint Daegu-Gyeongbuk regional campaign rally for the Democratic Party's chairmanship and supreme council candidates, held on the 9th at the Interburgo Exco Hotel in Buk-gu, Daegu.

During the event, Jeong said, "If Jeong Cheong-rae becomes party leader, please don't say that the Honam semiconductor cluster won't go well," and added, "Jeong Cheong-rae will ensure that the Gwangju semiconductor cluster is promoted without delay so that semiconductor products can be launched within President Lee Myung-bak's term." He had incorrectly referred to President Lee Jae-myung as President Lee Myung-bak.

The atmosphere at the venue stirred following Jeong's mistake, though he himself did not notice it. Later, when chairmanship candidate Song Young-gil took the podium, he pointed it out, saying, "Candidate Jeong made a slip of the tongue by saying he would complete the Honam semiconductor cluster within the Lee Myung-bak administration's term. Lee Myung-bak's term has already ended. He didn't even realize he had made a slip and just moved on."

Song continued, "Slips of the tongue can happen. But saying 'regimes are short-lived, but the people are eternal' is not a simple slip of the tongue. How does he truly understand this Lee Jae-myung administration?"

After the rally, Jeong met with reporters at the venue where the results of the Gangwon and Daegu-Gyeongbuk tour primaries were announced and offered an apology, saying, "I believe I misspoke the president's name during my speech, and I am sorry to the party members for that." He added, "I didn't realize it at the time. I wasn't aware that I had said the wrong president's name during my speech. I will be careful not to make such a mistake in the future."

Meanwhile, this is the second time Jeong has confused the president's name. During a campaign rally last May in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, in support of Gangdong-gu mayoral candidate Kim Jong-mu, Jeong said, "Compared to combining Yoon Suk-yeol, Park Geun-hye, Lee Jae-myung, and three former presidents together, isn't President Lee Jae-myung much more competent, much cleaner, and much better at diplomacy?" — incorrectly citing former President Lee Myung-bak's name as 'Lee Jae-myung.'

On that same occasion, he also said, "Park Geun-hye, who was imprisoned for the crime of state affairs interference during the Candlelight Revolution, and Lee Jae-myung, who was imprisoned for corruption," before immediately correcting himself to 'Lee Myung-bak.'