KOR- This party convention is effectively a vote of confidence for President Lee
- Strategic voting in Honam expected to deliver overwhelming victory for Kim Min-seok
- Attention on Supreme Council composition: '3 Pro-Lee' vs. '3 Pro-Jung'
- Will Choi Min-hee maintain 1st place? Park Sun-won's origin from Naju as a variable
- Aggressive negative campaigns always lose, tone needs to be softened
- Cannot underestimate Jung Chung-rae, holding out well... a remarkable person
- Shincheonji photo manipulation: If candidate was involved, it warrants resignation
- Choo Mi-ae supporting Jung Chung-rae? Public endorsement by local government head is inappropriate
- Cho Kuk criticizing Democratic Party? Just to confirm his presence, not a problem
■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 ~ 9:00 AM)
■ Date: August 10, 2026 (Mon)
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Rep. Park Ji-won, Democratic Party of Korea
[Kim Tae-hyun] We meet him every other week. Joining us is Rep. Park Ji-won of the Democratic Party, known as a "master of politics." Hello, Representative.
[Park Ji-won] I'm glad the heat has cooled off.
[Kim Tae-hyun] That's right. It was cool yesterday, and it was very cool this morning as well. Well, maybe not "very," but noticeably cooler compared to last week.
[Park Ji-won] But down south in Haenam, Wando, and Jindo, there is a drought, so people are waiting for rain. There is such a thirst that they even wish a typhoon would pass through.
[Kim Tae-hyun] That southern region is a breadbasket, so it needs a lot of rain.
[Park Ji-won] That's right.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Representative, just a quick question on this. We covered it as the final issue in our economic segment earlier: Rep. Hwang Hee's comment about this "bus house." Although he deleted the post himself, and the Democratic Party said, "It was just an incident, we are sorry," how did you view this?
[Park Ji-won] Rep. Hwang Hee is a very cautious and good person. However, he posted an inappropriate example that provoked young people and students in particular. He should just shut up and apologize. So far, he and the party have been calling it a mere incident. Why is that an incident? It was a mistake.
[Kim Tae-hyun] So it's not something to just brush off as an incident?
[Park Ji-won] Exactly. He needs to clearly apologize for his mistake. And the floor leader should issue a warning to Rep. Hwang Hee to be careful. Only with that kind of stance will young people in their 20s and 30s understand, and the public will understand as well. Are they just going to stay quiet and pass it off as an incident?
[Kim Tae-hyun] So you're saying a more proactive apology is needed?
[Park Ji-won] That's right.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. Let's move on to the national convention in earnest. The results of the second week of regional primaries were announced, and candidate Kim Min-seok overtook candidate Jung Chung-rae by a cumulative vote margin of 1.48 percentage points to take first place. That's where things stand now. Was this a result you expected?
[Park Ji-won] Of course, I expected it. Although it's 1.48 percentage points right now, there is a gap of more than 3,000 votes. Now, the decisive voting in Honam is beginning.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Right.
[Park Ji-won] Honam always votes strategically.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Right.
[Park Ji-won] And in particular, the vote in this national convention is becoming a vote on President Lee Jae-myung—whether to express confidence in him or not.
[Kim Tae-hyun] A vote of confidence in the president by party members.
[Park Ji-won] Exactly. That's why I believe there will be a strategic and selective concentration of votes in Honam. What I find even more interesting is the Supreme Council candidates. Right now, isn't it 3 pro-Lee and 2 pro-Jung? But here, the question is whether the top Supreme Council member will be candidate Choi Min-hee or candidate Park Sun-won, and whether candidate 5 makes it in or not.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Candidate Kim Yong or candidate Lee Seong-yoon.
[Park Ji-won] This will be watched with even greater interest as voting takes place in Honam.
[Kim Tae-hyun] First of all, Representative, voters in Honam vote strategically. That's always been the case.
[Park Ji-won] Right.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Especially in Democratic Party primaries. So confidence in the president is the issue.
[Park Ji-won] That's right. In the past, Honam voted for politics and democracy rather than economic development. But this time, while people appreciate President Lee Jae-myung for restoring democracy in politics, he also made massive semiconductor investments in Honam, giving the people of Honam confidence for the first time that "we can develop too." So if the party leader clashes with him in this convention, that wouldn't do. They will make a strategic choice and vote for President Lee Jae-myung—that's how I see it.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Then candidate Kim Min-seok would win by a landslide, according to what you're saying.
[Park Ji-won] As I see it, he will receive an overwhelming number of votes.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Candidate Kim Min-seok in Honam?
[Park Ji-won] Yes.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Because it's linked to supporting the president and giving power to the president.
[Park Ji-won] That's right. Democracy and economic development go together.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Then do you see a possibility that candidate Choi Min-hee, who is currently the top Supreme Council candidate, could be overtaken?
[Park Ji-won] So I'm saying let's watch that with interest.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Ah, that part.
[Park Ji-won] Because once the party leader is elected, if 3 out of the 5 elected Supreme Council members resign, the leader also has to step down.
[Kim Tae-hyun] The Democratic Party has that rule too...
[Park Ji-won] Right. That's why whether it becomes 3 pro-Lee or 2 pro-Jung is a crucial barometer. Candidates Kim Yong and Lee Seong-yoon are neck and neck at 5th and 6th place by a narrow margin.
[Kim Tae-hyun] That would be important.
[Park Ji-won] It is important. And while Rep. Choi Min-hee has been leading for top Supreme Council member so far, Rep. Park Sun-won graduated from Yeongsanpo Commercial High School.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Is that so?
[Park Ji-won] So how they will choose makes it even more interesting and exciting to me. That's why the public is looking forward to the weekend. Especially this weekend,
[Kim Tae-hyun] It seems like it will be really interesting this time.
[Park Ji-won] What happens with the party leader? Whether Kim Min-seok solidifies his lead or Jung Chung-rae stages a comeback is one thing, but whether the top Supreme Council member is Choi Min-hee or Park Sun-won, and whether 5th place goes to Kim Yong or Lee Seong-yoon will be decided, making it very interesting...
[Kim Tae-hyun] From candidate Kim Min-seok's perspective, even if he becomes party leader, if 3 pro-Jung Supreme Council members oppose him, it feels like his leverage will be held back continuously during his tenure.
[Park Ji-won] When I pointed that out, candidate Kim Min-seok mentioned it as well. Either way, as I see it, Mayor Oh Se-hoon's re-election race will take place. So if current issues like real estate and the stock market stay complicated, those voting trends will show up in Seoul. Then we need to worry about whether our Democratic Party can definitely win the Seoul mayoral election and work on it now. We must establish measures.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.
[Park Ji-won] If the Democratic Party loses the Seoul mayoral race, even if the party leader refuses to take responsibility and holds on, if 3 Supreme Council members resign saying "we will take responsibility," then a new national convention must be held. Complex and interesting dynamics like these are hidden. So while the back-and-forth fighting in the Democratic Party convention looks bad right now, in my experience—and I was like that too—those who engage in heavy negative attacks and cause disruption always end up losing.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Is that so?
[Park Ji-won] That's why even this morning, newspaper editorials are calling for the Democratic Party convention to focus on public livelihoods.
[Kim Tae-hyun] The media has been worrying a lot lately because they just fight every day.
[Park Ji-won] They do worry. So to hold a convention that doesn't worry the public, tone needs to be softened, but we'll see.
[Kim Tae-hyun] For now, it doesn't seem like things will cool down until the results are out.
[Park Ji-won] Well, that's why if you look at it as entertainment, it can be interesting in its own way—watching them trade blows.
[Kim Tae-hyun] It is interesting, since we still don't know who will win.
[Park Ji-won] With the back-and-forth, Kim Min-seok barely won by 1.48 percentage points. It's only about 3,000 votes. Then Honam will make a strategic choice to support the person who can win. They vote for Lee Jae-myung, but they can't ignore Jung Chung-rae either. He is holding out.
[Kim Tae-hyun] At this point, he's holding out well, right?
[Park Ji-won] He is holding out well. He is a remarkable person.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Honestly, another candidate might have collapsed completely by now, but seeing how he is holding out...
[Park Ji-won] That's right. He is a remarkable person.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes. From your perspective, he has been doing very well so far. But another issue has arisen—Shincheonji. It has escalated into a dispute over photo manipulation. On March 18, 2024 in Seoul...
[Park Ji-won] Everyone knows that fact. But that's wrong.
[Kim Tae-hyun] What is?
[Park Ji-won] How could someone crop out Rep. Jung Chung-rae's photo from the picture of the president and the Shincheonji representative and release it? I think this shows no respect for the incumbent president, and since there is no relation to Shincheonji, whoever committed such an act—the original creator—will definitely be caught.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Yes.
[Park Ji-won] And regarding why it happened, I believe the party must take decisive action; it shouldn't be left like this. If a candidate was involved, that candidate should be forced to resign.
[Kim Tae-hyun] You posted, "Let's not do this. Whoever did such a thing should resign and leave the party."
[Park Ji-won] That's right.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Right, because the original photo was taken at an event where politicians take photos together.
[Park Ji-won] I travel around taking photos too. Especially, excuse me, because I am popular.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Of course. A nationwide star.
[Park Ji-won] As a political "idol," I take tons of photos. When taking pictures, I jokingly say I charge 30,000 won for handshakes and 50,000 won for photos, so I take a lot. How would I know everyone I took photos with?
[Kim Tae-hyun] Right. For listeners who might not be aware, let me explain: it's a photo taken with a Shincheonji official, President Lee Jae-myung on the right, and Rep. Jung Chung-rae on the left. So it could have been taken at an event. It was during an election season because the president was party leader at the time, and judging by the Democratic Party jumper he was wearing, it was taken during an election campaign. That's the original photo: Shincheonji official in the middle, then-Party Leader Lee Jae-myung on the left, and Rep. Jung Chung-rae on the right. However, YouTuber Park Si-young TV released this photo after completely cropping out Rep. Jung Chung-rae, uploading a picture showing only the president and the Shincheonji official. Of course, Park Si-young TV didn't edit it themselves; they just took it from a Shincheonji official's social media post.
[Park Ji-won] In a sense, since that photo was already circulating, Park Si-young TV reporting on it actually helped prove it wasn't true. So I see a positive side to it as well. Anyway, I take photos too, so I know. How could we have known back then whether someone was from Shincheonji or somewhere else? If they had just released the original photo taken by all three people, that would have been fine.
[Kim Tae-hyun] That's fine.
[Park Ji-won] Why crop out one person? That's why whoever did this with deliberate intent is really... And this involves the incumbent president.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Who is it? Who did such a thing?
[Park Ji-won] I don't know.
[Kim Tae-hyun] You said whoever did this should resign and leave the party.
[Park Ji-won] I don't know. I believe it will be uncovered. So it should be uncovered, because it involves the president—otherwise, they will keep doing such things in the future.
[Kim Tae-hyun] So the candidate linked to that person should resign?
[Park Ji-won] That's how I see it.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Who might that candidate be?
[Park Ji-won] I don't know.
[Kim Tae-hyun] It wouldn't be candidate Kim Min-seok. Are you keeping candidate Jung Chung-rae in mind?
[Park Ji-won] No.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Because coincidentally, looking at the cropped photo, only candidate Jung Chung-rae's picture was removed.
[Park Ji-won] Well.
[Kim Tae-hyun] In any case, since there is suspicion of manipulation, whoever is responsible should step down and leave the party—that's what you're saying.
[Park Ji-won] I think this is no ordinary matter.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Do you think the party should investigate this after the convention?
[Park Ji-won] Someone will automatically file a complaint, and it will be investigated.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Just for reference, Lee Ji-eun, head of the Mapo-A regional committee, who appeared on Park Si-young TV at the time—the committee chair who recently posed poking candidate Jung Chung-rae's cheek—stated her position: "We simply introduced the photo posted on social media as it was on the broadcast, and did not intentionally edit or manipulate it."
[Park Ji-won] Well, I see it that way too. So by airing it on Park Si-young TV, it prevented it from quietly circulating behind the scenes. And if we trace it, it will come out. I filed another complaint just the day before yesterday. There is so much fake news circulating.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Let me ask about this. Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae suddenly declared a financial emergency for Gyeonggi Province last week. Then yesterday, she commented on candidate Jung Chung-rae's Facebook post, virtually expressing public support for him. How do you view Governor Choo's actions?
[Park Ji-won] As Governor Choo keeps bringing up Gyeonggi's financial problems, Jang Dong-hyeok also pointed out that Democratic governors led the province for 8 years.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Right.
[Park Ji-won] Mentioning former Governor Lee Jae-myung and Governor Kim Dong-yeon. I am also wondering what her true underlying motive might be.
[Kim Tae-hyun] This isn't helping the party right now, is it?
[Park Ji-won] Well, whether it helps or not is something Governor Choo Mi-ae should think carefully about. But for a head of a metropolitan local government to publicly endorse a candidate—that doesn't seem right.
[Kim Tae-hyun] You mean it's an inappropriate action?
[Park Ji-won] I wouldn't go as far as calling it wrong, but it is inappropriate.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Why do you think she is doing this? Because...
[Park Ji-won] Probably because she supports Jung Chung-rae.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Raising issues about Gyeonggi's finances could end up harming the president, since he also served as Gyeonggi governor, and supporting candidate Jung Chung-rae right now might also be something the president wouldn't welcome. Everything seems to be going against the president right now. Why is that?
[Park Ji-won] Well, she may have her own hidden motives.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Is that so?
[Park Ji-won] Even if I don't lay it all out, the viewers will understand.
[Kim Tae-hyun] I understand what you mean. Lastly, former leader Cho Kuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party said he would "become the government's red team" and continues to offer harsh criticism of the government and ruling party. How do you view this?
[Park Ji-won] It's to confirm his presence, saying "I'm still alive too."
[Kim Tae-hyun] "I'm still alive"?
[Park Ji-won] It's likely a sign like that. But it's not a big problem.
[Kim Tae-hyun] I see. Representative, once the convention ends, can the Democratic Party become 'One Team'? Looking at things now, it's completely...
[Park Ji-won] I believe we will become one team.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Really?
[Park Ji-won] Yes.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Because candidate Jung Chung-rae said if he becomes party leader, he will discipline those who raised the Shincheonji issue. That would mean disciplining candidate Kim Min-seok.
[Park Ji-won] Well, whoever wins, there's no law saying candidate Jung Chung-rae will definitely become party leader.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Right.
[Park Ji-won] But candidate Kim Min-seok says if he wins, he will eliminate all conflicts. Who should be given more support? That's why, while our Democratic Party seems to fight as if splitting apart, it's a national convention. If you look at American national conventions, we are much more tame.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Is that right?
[Park Ji-won] That's why I answer that a greater democracy of accepting election results is taking root in our Democratic Party.
[Kim Tae-hyun] Understood. We will wrap up today's interview here. That was Rep. Park Ji-won of the Democratic Party. Thank you.
[Park Ji-won] Thank you.
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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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