DistantNews
Support us
Democratic Party convention marred by escalating internal conflict
🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Democratic Party convention marred by escalating internal conflict

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Internal conflict is escalating within the Democratic Party ahead of its August 17 convention, with factions clashing over party leadership and mergers.
  • Pro-Lee (pro-Jae-myung) faction members accuse Representative Jeong Cheong-rae of lying and using the president's name to support his claims regarding party mergers.
  • The party's acting leader, Han Byung-do, also criticized the People Power Party's stance on a proposed amendment to the criminal procedure law.

Tensions are rising within South Korea's Democratic Party as its August 17 convention approaches, with internal factional disputes spilling into high-level party meetings. The conflict centers on the upcoming leadership election and potential mergers with other parties, notably the Jo Guk Innovation Party.

Key figures from the pro-Lee (pro-Jae-myung) faction have directly accused Representative Jeong Cheong-rae, a candidate for party leadership, of making false statements and leveraging President Lee Jae-myung's name. Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu asserted that Jeong's remarks about party mergers were "lies using the president's name" and questioned his suitability for party leadership if such dishonesty persists.

Candidate Jeong is lying, using the president's name.

— Kang Deuk-guSupreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu accuses Representative Jeong Cheong-rae of making false statements regarding party mergers.

Jeong had reportedly claimed during a convention rally that supreme council members were collectively opposing the party leader and resisting mergers with the Jo Guk Innovation Party. However, other supreme council members, including Hwang Myung-sun, refuted this, stating that no one opposed the one-person, one-vote system or the merger itself, but rather requested more deliberation time.

No supreme council member, including myself, opposed the one-person, one-vote system or the merger with the Jo Guk Innovation Party; we only requested a period of deliberation and discussion.

— Hwang Myung-sunSupreme Council member Hwang Myung-sun refutes claims that the party leadership opposed mergers.

In a separate but related development, Han Byung-do, the party's acting leader and floor leader, denounced the rival People Power Party's criticism of a proposed amendment to the criminal procedure law. Han labeled their accusations as "false propaganda," particularly concerning their use of President Lee Jae-myung's name in relation to the dismissal of public prosecution cases.

Han also provided an update on the recommendation of a special prosecutor, stating that discussions with the People Power Party were underway to jointly request nominations from the Korean Bar Association. The aim is to finalize the process within the upcoming August extraordinary parliamentary session.

They are spreading malicious rumors by dragging President Lee Jae-myung into the issue of dismissing public prosecution cases.

— Han Byung-doDemocratic Party acting leader Han Byung-do criticizes the People Power Party's stance on a proposed legal amendment.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog