Jung Chung-rae Resigns as Democratic Party Leader, Paving Way for Re-election Bid

[Anchor]

Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, stepped down from his post today (June 24). It appears that Jung intends to run for a consecutive term, signaling that the race for the party's leadership is set to intensify ahead of the national convention in August.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

Towards the end of the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly today, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae requested additional time to speak and announced, "I am stepping down from the position of party leader."

This comes approximately 11 months after he was elected in the party leadership by-election last August.

[Jung Chung-rae/Democratic Party Leader: I am stepping down from the party leadership today. I have spent several sleepless nights reflecting on myself.]

After mentioning his relationship with past Democratic presidents, Jung emphasized that President Lee Jae-myung is his comrade-in-arms and ally.

[Jung Chung-rae/Democratic Party Leader: President Lee Jae-myung is my comrade and ally. The person who will protect President Lee Jae-myung until the end is me, Jung Chung-rae.]

Jung has recently been perceived as having a difference in stance from President Lee's moderate and pragmatic approach, as he has prioritized the clarity of prosecutorial reform. Today, he again drew a line against the idea of adjusting the pace of reform.

[Jung Chung-rae/Democratic Party Leader: If we stop reform, our momentum for progress and our future driving force will also stop. We must reform and reform again, renewing ourselves every day.]

With Jung's resignation today, the competition for party leadership is expected to heat up further.

While Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, considered another potential leadership contender, has signaled his return to the party and is effectively preparing for a run, former party leader Song Young-gil has also been issuing messages of restraint, arguing daily that Jung lacks the justification for a consecutive term.

The Democratic Party is set to finalize the formation of its national convention preparatory committee this week. The party will operate under the leadership of acting floor leader Han Byung-do until the national convention concludes on August 17.

(Video Editing: Nam Il)

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