Democratic Party Supreme Council race: Pro-Lee faction leads 3-2 in preliminary, factional clashes erupt

The Democratic Party's race for its Supreme Council is heating up, with preliminary results from the Chungcheong region showing a tight 3-2 split between the pro-Lee Jae-myung and pro-Chung Sye-kyun factions. This outcome signals intense inter-factional competition throughout the remaining party convention period.

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There is someone who left the party to remove candidate Roh Moo-hyun and create candidate Chung Mong-joon in 2002. But now they say they gave their all for the unification of candidates Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Mong-joon. Who would believe this?

During the joint rally in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam region, candidates traded sharp barbs. Choi Min-hee, a pro-Chung Sye-kyun candidate, directly criticized pro-Lee faction members, questioning their past actions and current stances. She accused some of attempting to remove the legacy of former President Roh Moo-hyun and asked why the party internaly divides and demonizes members while embracing conservative figures.

In response, pro-Lee faction candidates attacked the previous leadership, associated with Chung Sye-kyun, pointing to perceived failures and the "responsibility for local election losses." Park Sung-won argued that the party has become disorganized despite claims of supporting President Lee Jae-myung, and questioned whether such a leadership should be tolerated. Seo Mi-hwa highlighted the failure to secure more gubernatorial seats in the June 3 local elections as a significant setback.

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You embrace Park Chung-hee's smart dictatorship, and you want to unify with conservatives? Why does the Democratic Party create divisions between pro-Lee and anti-Lee factions and demonize someone?

Further friction arose from comments made during the Chungcheong preliminary election. Choi Min-hee's accusation that "Ilbe culture" had infiltrated party rallies drew criticism from pro-Lee faction member Moon Jin-seok, who deemed the label excessive. Another pro-Lee candidate, Hwang Myung-sun, questioned why the pro-Chung faction remained silent against perceived insults towards President Lee Jae-myung while reacting strongly to criticism of their own leaders.

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Why has our Democratic Party, which was so competent and united under President Lee Jae-myung, become so disorganized and messed up? Should we tolerate a leadership that claims to protect the president but causes discord and acts out of sync?

The debate also extended to the interpretation of specific phrases. When Kim Min-seok referred to Chung Sye-kyun's past efforts as "congratulating" (致賀), pro-Chung candidate Lee Sung-yoon denounced the term as language of dictatorship. However, allies of Kim Min-seok countered by pointing out that President Lee Jae-myung himself had recently used a similar phrase regarding employee recognition, questioning if the criticism would also be directed at the president.

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It is excessive to define the members' cries and sighs as 'Ilbe culture.'