Kim Min-seok Criticizes "Self-Serving Politics" vs. Jung Chung-rae: "I Will Not Engage in Negativity"

[Anchor]

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has announced his bid for the Democratic Party leadership. He took aim at his rival, former leader Jung Chung-rae, criticizing that the "harmful effects of self-serving politics have led the party into confusion."

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced his candidacy for the next Democratic Party leadership at the Jeonil Building in Gwangju, which still bears the bullet marks from the martial law troops during the May 18 Democratization Movement.

[Kim Min-seok/Former Prime Minister: Perfect alignment between the party and the administration, along with a pragmatic, livelihood-focused integration line, is the essential path verified by the four previous democratic governments.]

He argued that because the party failed to translate support for President Lee Jae-myung into election results, a decision to replace the leader is necessary. He also sharpened his criticism toward his rival for the party leadership, former leader Jung Chung-rae.

[Kim Min-seok/Former Prime Minister: Over the past year, the harmful effects of self-serving politics have caused confusion in the party and in party-government cooperation.]

In response, former leader Jung retorted on social media, stating that he "will not engage in negativity and will use the language of a comrade."

Instead, Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yoon, who is considered part of the pro-Jung faction, stepped forward, stating, "It is deplorable to see a candidacy announcement that only blames others and criticizes," and targeted former Prime Minister Kim by asking, "Why did you not participate in the National Assembly vote to lift martial law during the martial law period?"

Another contender for the party leadership, Representative Song Young-gil, was spotted at the National Assembly holding a draft of his candidacy declaration.

The key variables for the Democratic Party leadership election, to be held on August 17, are analyzed to be the one-member, one-vote system for all party members and the sentiment of party members in the Honam region.

Unlike last year's leadership election, where one vote from a delegate was worth approximately 17 times more than one vote from a regular party member, this time the votes will be weighted equally at 1 to 1. As a result, competition for clarity and ideological sharpness directed at party members is likely to intensify, rather than relying on organizational power centered around incumbent lawmakers.

As of November last year, the Democratic Party had approximately 1.645 million regular party members.

With an estimated 30% of these members in the South Jeolla and Gwangju regions and about 15% in North Jeolla, analysts suggest that the "votes of Honam party members" will determine the direction of the next party leadership.

(Video Editing: Park Sun-soo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.