▲ Democratic Party of Korea leadership candidate Kim Min-seok delivers a speech at the Seoul regional party member victory rally held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on August 5.
Democratic Party of Korea leadership candidate Kim Min-seok said today (the 6th), regarding the "alleged Shincheonji intervention in the national convention" that he previously raised targeting rival candidate Chung Chung-rae, "I believe there are sufficient grounds to warrant raising the issue."
Appearing on Kim Eo-jun's YouTube show "Humility is Hard News Factory" today, candidate Kim stated, "An investigation by the joint investigation headquarters is currently underway, and given that I am someone who even predicted martial law, would I have brought this up out of nowhere without any basis?"
Regarding the nationwide tour primaries for the August 17 national convention, Kim predicted that the outcome will be decided in the Honam region—results to be announced on the 15th—and will not be overturned afterward, adding, "My final concern is the emergence of a sudden variable similar to the type seen during the 2002 [sic] presidential primary."
When asked what kind of sudden variable he meant, he replied, "I have no intention of reigniting that issue (Shincheonji)," while also noting, "The factory manager (Kim Eo-jun) and commentators have raised questions like, 'Isn't this Shincheonji?'"
Regarding his earlier remarks targeting candidate Chung—where he called for "breaking the three-way secret alliance of anti-Lee Jae-myung, factionalism, and Shincheonji as the essence of this national convention"—Kim argued, "Rather than a fully formed coalition, I believe there are core elements within anti-Lee sentiments, factionalism, and Shincheonji respectively."
He went on to emphasize, "Some cases are consciously or unconsciously linked, while others are not. I did not say that candidate Chung is the single leader of this, nor did he link up with Shincheonji."
In response to questions about why he claimed candidate Chung delayed the processing of the Criminal Procedure Act amendment aimed at abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights during his time as party leadership, Kim answered, "I believe they intended to drag this issue out until the national convention."
Reiterating his stance, Kim pointed out that candidate Chung's failure to respond to writer Rhyu Si-min's criticism of President Lee Jae-myung should be viewed as anti-Lee behavior.
Kim argued, "Regardless of the true intent, remaining 'no comment' while writer Rhyu shakes the President goes against common sense. This is anti-Lee and factionalism."
He added, "If members think, 'No one will keep tabs on those shaking the President,' the party-government alignment will shake and the administration will lose momentum. If candidate Chung becomes party leader, policies will lack traction and even the most critical mega-projects could be shaken."
In addition, regarding the ongoing conflict between pro-Lee factions and pro-Chung factions over calls by pro-Lee circles to grant additional voting opportunities to party members who missed out, Kim remarked, "I understand the intent, but realistically it will not be easy."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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