- Deposit increase? Expenses rose as party membership reached 1.6 million
- Even I, who am not a youth, gasped; there must be consideration for youth
- Representative Lee Sung-yoon's involvement is not true; it amounts to spreading false information
- President's remarks an interference in party affairs? Merely expressing an opinion
- The national convention should focus on reforming public livelihoods, but it has failed to do so
- All general election nominations will be decided through primaries; the party leader's role is not that significant
- No artificial cutoffs, such as nomination massacres of rivals
- Supporting Jung Chung-rae? Other candidates are not honest
- Pro-Lee? One should shine on their own, rather than relying on Lee's help
- Ilbe culture has penetrated the Democratic Party of Korea; we must protect the party
- Promised to abolish supplementary investigative powers but now there are disagreements? It undermines trust
■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5MHz 7:00–9:00 AM)
■ Date: July 21, 2026 (Tuesday)
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Representative Choi Min-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea (Candidate for Supreme Council Member)
▷[Host Kim Tae-hyun]: The race for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea is heating up. Yesterday (July 20), a joint speech session for the preliminary primary candidates of the national convention was held. Joining us is Representative Choi Min-hee, who has declared her candidacy for the Supreme Council, promising to protect the Democratic Party of Korea. Representative Choi, hello.
▶[Representative Choi Min-hee]: Hello, I am Choi Min-hee.
▷[Kim]: Yesterday was the first day of the preliminary primary. There are 14 candidates for the Supreme Council, and the first cutoff will narrow them down to eight. I assume making it into the top eight will be no problem for you.
▶[Choi]: No, actually, I felt quite nervous while giving my speech yesterday.
▷[Kim]: Really?
▶[Choi]: Yes, it seems many people assume that I have already served as a supreme council member before.
▷[Kim]: I thought so too, since you served as a committee chairperson for a long time.
▶[Choi]: But this is actually my first time running.
▷[Kim]: Oh, is that so?
▶[Choi]: I am the type of person who focuses deeply on my own field. I didn't run before because I felt being part of the leadership, which requires managing so many different things, wouldn't suit me. Yesterday was my very first speech. So I was nervous—I was actually shaking.
▷[Kim]: I see.
▶[Choi]: So, I just hope to make it in, even if it is in eighth place.
▷[Kim]: Representative Choi, you are close to former Representative Jung Chung-rae, aren't you?
▶[Choi]: Yes, I am publicly supporting former Representative Jung Chung-rae and working alongside him in this election.
▷[Kim]: So, you, Representative Lee Sung-yoon, and Representative Han Min-soo are part of what is called "Team Jung Chung-rae."
▶[Choi]: Yes, you can call us that now.
▷[Kim]: Over the weekend, former Representative Jung Chung-rae received so many donations that he had to return the excess. He then asked supporters to send donations to the lawmakers running with him—you, Representative Lee Sung-yoon, and Representative Han Min-soo. Did you receive a lot of donations as well?
▶[Choi]: This shows how donations tend to concentrate on the party leader candidate.
▷[Kim]: Right.
▶[Choi]: It is always like that. So, I would appreciate it if supporters could share some of that support with me as well.
▷[Kim]: I see. Let's look into a few issues. There has been criticism that the deposit fee was raised significantly compared to before, which goes against the President's intentions and might block youth candidates from running for the Supreme Council. What is your take on this?
▶[Choi]: First of all, I registered to run believing the deposit was 15 million won. I was shocked to find out it was actually 50 million won.
▷[Kim]: It went up more than threefold?
▶[Choi]: Yes, it is 20 million won for the preliminary primary and 30 million won for the main primary. So yesterday, I asked one of the national convention management committee members, "Why did you raise it so much?" They explained that the number of party members has increased significantly. Last time, they had to send KakaoTalk messages and texts to 1.2 million members. Now, the membership is at 1.6 million. When they calculated the actual expenses, they realized they needed to charge that much. That is how it became 50 million won. Also, did you know there were 22 candidates in the previous Supreme Council election?
▷[Kim]: Is that so?
▶[Choi]: When there are more candidates, the individual cost goes down. But this time, the number of candidates decreased to 14, while the number of party members increased. So they charged based on actual costs. However, they should have given this more thought. In reality, 20 million won is a huge amount of money for young people, and even with a 50% discount, it is still 10 million won.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: Even I gasped a bit when I heard it was 50 million won.
▷[Kim]: Of course, anyone would.
▶[Choi]: Yes. I usually don't actively raise political funds because I prefer to be frugal, but this time I got nervous and asked for donations.
▷[Kim]: But some view this as a conflict between the pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) and pro-Jung (pro-Jung Chung-rae) factions. Representative Lee Geon-tae claimed that Representative Lee Sung-yoon was involved in the decision to raise the deposit and the rejection of a separate election for the youth supreme council member. Representative Lee Sung-yoon refuted this, saying it is completely groundless.
▶[Choi]: It is completely groundless. First of all, there is something that needs to be corrected in how the Democratic Party of Korea handles things. Once a decision is made and passes the Supreme Council, it is essentially finalized, much like passing a bill in a plenary session. When issues are raised afterward, accepted, and corrected repeatedly, it undermines the party's authority. I hope we examine these matters thoroughly beforehand and make proper decisions before the Supreme Council votes, following the procedures outlined in the party constitution and rules.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: Regarding Representative Lee Sung-yoon, as he said, the issue of the youth supreme council member did involve debates over the party constitution and rules. However, the deposit fee issue was simply approved without debate as proposed by the election commission.
▷[Kim]: Is that so?
▶[Choi]: That is why Representative Lee Sung-yoon believes this accusation constitutes the spreading of false information.
▷[Kim]: Really?
▶[Choi]: Yes. Yesterday, I sat next to Representative Lee Geon-tae during the pledge ceremony.
▷[Kim]: You are both running for the Supreme Council.
▶[Choi]: So I told him, "Representative, it doesn't seem like Representative Lee Sung-yoon led the decision on the election deposit." I have confirmed through multiple channels that the claim is not true.
▷[Kim]: But the President posted on social media expressing his view that the deposit should be restored to its previous level. Because of this, the opposition party and some hardline supporters of the ruling party criticized it, asking, "Isn't this the President interfering in party affairs?" What do you think?
▶[Choi]: I do not view it as interference in party affairs. For instance, interference would be if the President directly instructed the secretary-general, or if he intervened through specific, concrete channels. This level of comment seems to be merely expressing an opinion.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: However, the Democratic Party of Korea currently does not have a party leader. I felt that the absence of a party leader is causing a lot of confusion within the party. It made me realize that we indeed need a central figure. The problem lies in the current decision of the Democratic Party of Korea that caused the President to worry. And don't you agree with the substance of his message? Although the process was a bit bumpy, isn't it right to significantly lower the deposit for youth candidates so that young people who want to enter politics can run for the Supreme Council?
▷[Kim]: You mean the direction of what the President said.
▶[Choi]: Yes. We feel sorry for causing such concern. If I join the Supreme Council, since I am known for working meticulously,
▷[Kim]: That's true.
▶[Choi]: I will make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
▷[Kim]: Then will the deposit be lowered starting from the next national convention?
▶[Choi]: We will have to see the situation then, but rather than lowering it for everyone, I would accommodate young people and the socially vulnerable.
▷[Kim]: Everyone, this was actually one of Representative Choi Min-hee's pledges. When you did an interview with us on June 12, I asked you what the keyword for this national convention should be. You said, "A Democratic Party of Korea that changes my life" should be the keyword, and that it shouldn't be about factions.
▶[Choi]: Yes.
▷[Kim]: A month has passed since then, and the race officially kicked off yesterday (July 20). How does it look to you? Do you think the national convention is running with "A Democratic Party of Korea that changes my life" as its true keyword?
▶[Choi]: I don't think it is going that way right now. In a word, "A Democratic Party of Korea that changes my life" means reforming public livelihoods. As for the substance of this reform, although the stock market is fluctuating now, isn't it still much higher than during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration?
▷[Kim]: Yes, it is.
▶[Choi]: For example, people might think, "They say the semiconductor industry is booming, exports are increasing, and tax revenues have surpassed 100 trillion won, so why isn't my own pocket getting fuller?" Anyone could think that. Reforming public livelihoods means creating policies so that when the economy shows signs of improvement, the fruits of that growth are distributed evenly to all citizens. That is why yesterday, I proposed that we quickly resolve and deliver on our past promises—such as media reform, prosecution reform, and judicial reform—and be evaluated on the results, while gathering wisdom for reforming public livelihoods.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: I feel very sorry that things have not been progressing that way so far.
▷[Kim]: Why do you think it is not progressing that way?
▶[Choi]: This is a national convention, and this one in particular is tied to the nominations for the general election in two years. But if you look closely, there isn't much the party leader can do. In the general election in two years, all nominations will likely be decided through primaries without any cutoffs.
▷[Kim]: Really?
▶[Choi]: Yes. So from now on, it is more important for political aspirants to go to the districts they want and can do well in, and focus on recruiting party members and being active there.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: But sometimes our mindsets cannot keep up with the system. People still think, "I am close to Person A, so if A becomes the party leader, I will get nominated." This is why things get complicated. A national convention is a transition of power, especially within the ruling party. So there has always been conflict. We tend to forget, but in the past, when Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu, Chairman Moon Jae-in, and Chairman Park Jie-won competed against each other, terms like "mysterious mobile forces" and "presidential power-mongers" were thrown around.
▷[Kim]: Yes, that did happen.
▶[Choi]: But we don't hear those kinds of things now.
▷[Kim]: Representative, if "Team Jung Chung-rae," led by former Representative Jung Chung-rae, takes control of the party leadership, some worry that supporters of former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok might face a "nomination massacre" in the next general election. Are you saying that won't happen? That there will be no arbitrary cutoffs?
▶[Choi]: Does that make any sense? Even during the recent local elections, the party leader repeatedly spoke of "Four-No Nominations." The core of that was not to conduct artificial cutoffs.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: Yet, in some regions, there were continuous issues, especially with cutting off youth candidates. One young candidate fought to the end, got another chance for a primary, and ended up defeating the strategically nominated candidate 70 to 30.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: Even then, the party leader's stance was reportedly against artificial cutoffs. If we don't do that during the general election, the party leader will likely face severe backlash during the election process.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: So let me say this again: nominations in two years will likely be decided entirely through primaries without cutoffs. Therefore, if you work hard in your district, win the hearts of the citizens, and practice upright politics, the citizens will observe and evaluate you.
▷[Kim]: Indeed. Representative, earlier you said we can call you "pro-Jung" as part of Team Jung Chung-rae. But why candidate Jung Chung-rae, and not candidate Kim Min-seok or candidate Song Young-gil?
▶[Choi]: First of all, I have my own standards when looking at politics, and the first is honesty. Recently, I have often thought that certain aspects of other candidates were not very honest. I won't go into specifics.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: But I have worked with candidate Jung Chung-rae for over 20 years and resolved many important issues together. He never lies, even about small things. If something goes wrong, he directly says, "I cannot do this." When I was in civil society serving as the secretary-general of the Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media (CCDM), we worked together to draft the Newspaper Act. During that process, if there was an issue, he would tell civil society, "The floor leader absolutely won't agree to this," rather than just ignoring it. I value this quality the most.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: On a larger scale, I believe the party leader race should not become a prelude to the presidential race. Former Representative Jung Chung-rae has stated that he will not run for president and will instead follow the path of former Representative Lee Hae-chan to protect the party. That is very important to me, especially since I co-authored Lee Hae-chan's memoirs with him.
▷[Kim]: So former Representative Jung Chung-rae really has no presidential ambitions?
▶[Choi]: I cannot know his inner thoughts, but publicly, he has openly stated that he will not run for president.
▷[Kim]: He did say that.
▶[Choi]: I believe a party leader who follows the path of Lee Hae-chan is more helpful for winning the general election.
▷[Kim]: But his rival, candidate Kim Min-seok, says, "We must end the 'Myeong-Cheong battle' (conflict between Lee Jae-myung and Jung Chung-rae). Do you want to see the 'Myeong-Cheong battle' again?" It seems he is suggesting that if candidate Jung Chung-rae becomes leader, there will be conflict with the Blue House again.
▶[Choi]: I find that very regrettable. The President is not running in this leadership election. Making such statements is not good for the other candidates. A party leader should at least be someone who shines on their own. The message should be, "I will do this, and I will support the President this way," rather than, "I want to win because the President is helping me in this race." I think those kinds of remarks fall into the latter category. I believe a race framed as "pro-Seok (pro-Kim Min-seok) versus pro-Cheong (pro-Jung Chung-rae)" would be a much more self-respecting leadership election.
▷[Kim]: Representative, I read your entire speech from yesterday. You mentioned "A Democratic Party of Korea that protects my life" and used the expression "protecting the Democratic Party of Korea." Who are you protecting the party from?
▶[Choi]: There are forces trying to shake the Democratic Party of Korea.
▷[Kim]: Who? Because off the top of my head, the main opposition party is quite weak right now, so even if they try to shake the Democratic Party of Korea, it wouldn't easily sway, would it?
▶[Choi]: It is a given that the main opposition party tries to shake the ruling party, and that is natural for an opposition party, so I hope they do it wisely. More than that, as I clearly stated yesterday, I thought the Ilbe culture was far away, but it has penetrated the periphery of the Democratic Party of Korea.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: We have four proud presidents. When comparing the People Power Party and us, our proudest point is that President Kim Dae-jung (DJ), President Roh Moo-hyun, President Moon Jae-in, and in the future, President Lee Jae-myung will be even more loved; they are all engraved in our hearts as our elders and are respected.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: We respect DJ, and President Roh Moo-hyun has a 40% favorability rating. But look at the People Power Party. Have any of their presidents finished their terms properly? You can't find any.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: That is why I am proud of it. I believe mocking our presidents is unacceptable. That used to be the distant Ilbe culture, but now such people have appeared around us. I was shocked to see a very small number of lawmakers bringing that culture inside the National Assembly. That is exactly why I want to join the leadership. I declared that I will protect our long-standing tradition of respecting our four presidents.
▷[Kim]: You mean the supporters are divided, with some mocking former President Moon Jae-in and others mocking current President Lee Jae-myung? Is that what you are referring to among the supporters?
▶[Choi]: Yes, that's right. People can criticize, but I am talking about Ilbe language—the mockery, distortion, and disregard for life that we all know. That is what I am referring to.
▷[Kim]: This will likely be the last question. Looking at yesterday's joint speech session, the first thing you mentioned was the supplementary investigative powers in prosecution reform. This is the official party line of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the complete abolition of the prosecution's investigative powers and the separation of investigation and indictment were the President's campaign pledges. You seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the current disagreements emerging within the party.
▶[Choi]: It is more than just feeling uncomfortable. Honestly, I thought doing this undermines trust. We need to make a clear decision one way or the other. For instance, the complete deprivation of the prosecution's investigative powers emerged in 2020, and since then, completely abolishing the prosecution's investigative powers has consistently been the party line of the Democratic Party of Korea. Some say it wasn't formally ratified? I was shocked to hear that. I was so busy with the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee that I just listened to what the spokesperson, floor leader, and party leader said at the general meeting of lawmakers and naturally assumed it was the party line, as did the majority of us.
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: If we want to change it, I argued we should take a straightforward approach. We should say, "We thought about it carefully, and although we pushed for the complete deprivation of investigative powers in the past, we now see it was a mistake. We are truly sorry, so we need to revise it." We should explain that while we thought that way in the past, we cannot do it now because of certain reasons. Instead, they just suddenly introduce a bill without any of that. When that happens, wouldn't both our supporters and citizens who do not support the Democratic Party of Korea wonder, "What are they doing?"
▷[Kim]: Yes.
▶[Choi]: Failing to take a straightforward approach gives the impression that something is being hidden. So I said, if we cannot be straightforward, let's quickly deliver on what we promised. Regarding the concerns raised this time—such as protecting the vulnerable, sexual violence, and victim protection—I hear that the Legislation and Judiciary Committee has already prepared sufficient victim relief measures within the Criminal Procedure Act.
▷[Kim]: Understood. We will wrap up here for today. This was Representative Choi Min-hee, a candidate for the Supreme Council of the Democratic Party of Korea. Thank you.
▶[Choi]: Thank you.
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