The Democratic Party is set to hold its national convention on the 17th, as candidate Jung Cheong-rae stated on the 1st, "Just as voting is one person, one vote, I hope our competition and struggle can be one-on-one as well." However, candidates Kim Min-seok and Song Young-gil continued to direct pointed remarks at Jung.
During a joint speech for the election of the party leader and supreme council members at the CJB Media Center in Cheongju, Jung remarked, "Even if I am beaten two-to-one or three-to-one, I have come this far with party members who protect and support me."
He added, "I have faced all kinds of attacks and oppression to get here, and I will not engage in negative campaigning or slander my opponents. In this TV debate, I did not expose my opponents' weaknesses to attack them."
As the upcoming convention intensifies factional conflicts between the pro-Jung and pro-Lee factions, Jung urged fair competition with Kim and Song, who are seen as aligned with Lee. Nevertheless, Kim and Song continued their criticisms of Jung.
Kim stated, "I was confident that if the results of the June 3 local elections were 15-to-1, it would mark the beginning of a golden era for the Lee Jae-myung government. Both President Lee and I desperately wished for victory. However, after the election results, President Lee apologized, saying, 'We failed to win where we needed to win. I am sorry for the election results.'"
He emphasized, "While there can be various analyses of the election results, at the very least, if you are a comrade who shares the same aspirations as President Lee, there should be a consensus on how desperately he and the government wanted victory and how the results brought us pain and disappointment."
Additionally, he raised his voice, questioning, "If the definition of 'anti-Lee' is divisive, then who was the first to create the division within the ABC?" This was a rebuttal to Jung's claim that those who shout 'anti-Lee' are the true anti-Lee.
Song also targeted Jung, stating, "The Democratic Party is not a party that allows re-election except in special cases. President Lee's re-election was a desperate measure to protect the party's future presidential candidates amid the prosecution's oppression under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration." He further asserted, "I did not engage in self-serving politics. I will exercise my right to self-defense against those attacking the Lee Jae-myung administration and will strive for victory in the general elections and the restoration of power in 2030."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party held a joint speech in Chungnam earlier in the day and plans to conduct similar events in Daejeon and Sejong in the afternoon. The results of the voting by party members from Chungnam, Chungbuk, Daejeon, and Sejong will be announced around 7 p.m. This initial announcement of the results from the joint election is expected to serve as a barometer for the upcoming national convention on the 17th.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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