As Rep. Ahn Ho-young continues a hunger strike demanding a renewed party inspection into allegations that rival candidate Rep. Lee Won-taek had meal expenses paid by someone else in the Democratic Party’s North Jeolla governor primary, two senior party officials publicly criticized party leader Jung Cheong-rae for what they called an indifferent response. The dispute appears to be deepening within the party’s top leadership.
Supreme Council Senior Member Lee Eon-ju and Supreme Council Member Kang Deuk-gu held a news conference in front of Ahn’s tent site at the National Assembly, saying Ahn had entered his 12th day of fasting and that they had come to ask him to stop.
Lee said that when the allegations against Lee Won-taek surfaced, she argued the party should conduct a proper inspection and proceed with the primary in the interest of fairness, citing what she called the need for balance with the case involving allegations of cash envelopes tied to North Jeolla Gov. Kim Kwan-young. She said she was unable to press that position through and warned that optimism about the local elections appeared to be overshadowing procedural and fairness concerns.
“Showing fairness is the minimum duty to voters, the public and the president,” Lee said, questioning how the party leader could fail to visit a fellow lawmaker who is fasting while raising concerns. “At least show the minimum decency to someone on a hunger strike,” she said.
She also pointed to the leadership’s decision to hold a Supreme Council meeting on a boat near Yokjido, saying that while one side was “holding back tears and crying out,” the leadership looked as if it were “posing for a photo shoot” at sea.
Kang also appealed to Jung, saying politicians must focus on people’s livelihoods but should also listen to Ahn and “take his hand.” Kang said he and Lee, as members of the leadership, felt “boundless responsibility” and even “a sense of shame.”
North Jeolla Gov. Kim, who has said he supports Ahn, also visited the site, according to the officials.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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