Jung Chung-rae Cites President Lee's Past Remarks: "Party Members Are the Owners of the Party"

Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae stated today (June 16) that "just as the people are the owners of the country, the party members are the owners of the party."

During the Central Committee meeting held at the National Assembly today, Jung said, "It may seem like the party leader runs the party operations, but in the end, it is the party members who do."

"Among the many famous quotes by President Lee Jae-myung, I have always cherished and kept in my heart the words, 'It may seem like politicians do politics, but in the end, it is the people who do,'" Jung emphasized. "The same applies to party operations."

With recent interpretations suggesting that President Lee's social media post—where he urged that "the ruling party's passion should be directed toward the entire nation, not just our camp"—was aimed at Jung, who is seen as aligned with hardline party members, Jung's remarks are being interpreted as an attempt to highlight that the party's core lies with its members by referencing the President's past statements.

Jung said, "I hope that party members will continue to send their unwavering support and encouragement for the success and stable state administration of the Lee Jae-myung government as its certain backers, reliable assistants, and steadfast companions." He added, "Let us, including the party, the government, and the Blue House, as well as all party members and the public, unite to build an irreplaceable Republic of Korea together."

He continued, "President Lee is working day and night, deeply concerned about establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula following the end of the Middle East war," adding, "I ask for your generous support and applause for President Lee, who is sparing no effort on the front lines of national interest in diplomacy."

"I hope that President Lee's diplomacy focused on national interest, for which he is working day and night, will conclude successfully and that he will return home in triumph," he added.

The Democratic Party submitted an amendment containing special provisions related to the August 17 national convention to the Central Committee today.

The existing party constitution stipulates that for a regular national convention, a preparatory committee must be established 50 days before the start of candidate registration, and the method for electing the party leader, supreme council members, and city/provincial party chairpersons must be finalized 30 days before the start of candidate registration.

The Democratic Party established a new special addendum to waive the application of these constitutional provisions for the August 17 convention, judging that it would be practically difficult to proceed with the procedures if they followed the existing constitution.

In addition, a new special addendum was established to resolve potential disadvantages for candidates who practiced fair nomination and respected primary results during the nomination process for the 9th local elections held on the 3rd.

The party constitution stipulates a deduction in primary votes for those with a history of defying nominations or a history of leaving the party or being disciplined.

The addendum allows for these constitutional provisions to be applied differently by evaluating whether candidates respected the primaries in the 9th local elections.

The Democratic Party is conducting an online vote among Central Committee members on the constitutional amendment until 6:00 p.m. today.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.