As the Democratic Party prepares for its upcoming convention, former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and former party leader Jeong Cheong-rae engaged in a heated exchange in Honam, a region critical to the party's fortunes. With the election just a month away, tensions are escalating.
On July 10, Kim attended a meeting of the Jeonbuk Provincial Party's executive committee in Jeonju, where he acknowledged the challenges faced during the local elections, stating, "There were painful and conflicting processes during our victory in the June 3 local elections."
This comment appears to reference the conflicts that arose during the Jeonbuk gubernatorial primary, particularly the swift expulsion of former Jeonbuk Governor Kim Kwan-young over allegations of bribery, which led him to run as an independent. Additionally, there were protests from lawmakers, including Ahn Ho-young, who lost to Lee Won-taek in the primary, demanding an investigation into allegations of meal expense reimbursements involving Lee. Concerns about the fairness of Lee's treatment, perceived as favoring the pro-Lee faction, have also been raised.
Kim emphasized the need for unity, saying, "We must create a future that brings everything together as one," and expressed his commitment to the heavy responsibility of leadership.
He further stated, "We cannot engage in self-politics at this time. Everyone must support President Lee to avoid becoming part of the opposition faction." Kim has previously criticized Jeong for pursuing self-political interests during his tenure as party leader.
Kim also expressed concerns about the party's future, saying, "While we achieved good results in the last election in Jeonbuk, I worry about whether we can win again. Greater unity is essential for victory."
In contrast, Jeong countered, "As far as I remember, we won significantly in Jeonbuk. We elected a regional governor and won in 14 local governments. All provincial council members in our districts were elected."
Jeong argued that without internal unity, the party cannot expand externally, stating, "We need to unite supporters of former Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in, and President Lee within the party and seek alliances outside. In the recent local elections, we succeeded through unity and failed through division."
He appeared to reference his push for a merger with the Justice Innovation Party, which Kim criticized as a flawed approach. Kim stated on July 8 during an appearance on the YouTube channel 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Hard News Factory' that Jeong's merger strategy was a "bombshell declaration that derailed our efforts, stemming from excessive ambition."
As the convention approaches, Kim Min-seok, along with lawmakers Song Young-gil, Ko Min-jeong, and former Gangjin County Council Chair Kim Bo-mi, have declared their candidacies. Jeong's announcement is also expected soon.
Additionally, there are notable divisions between the pro-Lee and pro-Jeong factions regarding the convention's procedures. The pro-Lee faction has reportedly expressed discontent over the primary schedule starting in Jeong's home region of Chungcheong, while the pro-Jeong faction has criticized the preference voting system and the youth supreme committee structure.
The preference voting system allows voters to rank their top three candidates on a single ballot. If a candidate receives a majority in the first round, they are declared the winner; if not, the votes are tallied for the next choices. Some analysts suggest this system may favor the pro-Lee faction.
The youth supreme committee involves electing one of five supreme committee members separately, with the same voting rules as for the party leader and supreme committee elections. If there are four or more candidates, a preliminary election is held to select three, with the highest vote-getter winning.
Although the preference voting system and youth supreme committee structure were approved by the preparatory committee, they are currently under reconsideration due to pushback from the pro-Jeong faction and are pending in the supreme committee. Acting party leader Han Byeong-do is expected to reach a conclusion on the matter soon, with speculation that the pro-Lee faction may take further action if the proposals are rejected.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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