"Hard to Compromise," "Unpleasant and Violent"... A 'Clash' Just Ten Days Later

[Anchor]

At a Democratic Party workshop held for party unity ahead of the regular National Assembly session in September, former Party Leader Jung Chung-rae expressed frustration over remarks made by Party Leader Kim Min-seok. When Leader Kim publicly stated that it was difficult to compromise with former Leader Jung regarding differences in the party's political line, former Leader Jung directly protested, calling it unpleasant and violent.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the details.

[Reporter]

At the Democratic Party lawmakers' workshop held in Incheon today (August 27).

Party Leader Kim Min-seok presented a plaque of appreciation to former Party Leader Jung Chung-rae, his competitor at the August 17 national convention.

However, while explaining the party's political line, Leader Kim mentioned a conversation he had with former Leader Jung at the National Assembly plenary chamber yesterday (August 26) and described their differences in stance as follows:

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: Our Leader Jung Chung-rae is a representative 'believer that there is no center.' Since this is simply his own argument, it is neither a matter of good and evil nor a matter of evaluation.]

Expressing confidence that President Lee Jae-myung likely shares a similar view regarding his own 'expansion to moderate conservatism' theory, he stated that it was difficult to compromise with former Leader Jung's 'prioritizing progressives' unity' stance.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: Because it is a difference in each other's judgment, we reached a provisional conclusion that it is somewhat difficult to compromise with each other.]

Three hours after Leader Kim mentioned former Leader Jung by name seven times, the former leader posted a long rebuttal on social media.

He sharpened his criticism, stating that he only had a one-to-two-minute conversation with Leader Kim yesterday, and that Leader Kim mentioning the real name of his competitor from the recent national convention just to say what he wanted to say was 'violent.'

He also explained that his statement that 'there is no center' meant that moderates show support when the ruling party acts like a ruling party and the opposition party acts like an opposition party, while targeting Leader Kim with an outpouring of words such as unpleasant, insulting, and rude.

In response, Leader Kim wrote on social media that he also respects former Leader Jung's remarks and arguments, while apologizing for causing discomfort and asking for understanding.

The atmosphere within the party is shaken by the direct clash between the current and former party leaders just ten days after the national convention, which was held under the banner of unity.

(Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Jang Hyun-ki)

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