"Myeong-Chung Daejeon" Begins in Earnest... Clash Over "Shincheonji Intervention Suspicions"

[Anchor]

With the main match lineup for the Democratic Party national convention finalized, the factional showdown, often compared to the so-called "Myeong-Chung Daejeon," has become even more distinct. Amidst this, pro-Myeong (Lee Jae-myung) and pro-Chung (Jung Cheong-rae) factions openly clashed over suspicions that the religious group Shincheonji had collectively joined the Democratic Party.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The Democratic Party finalized the main race lineup for its national convention through the preliminary primaries yesterday (July 23).

The three-way race for party leader features pro-Myeong candidates Kim Min-seok and Song Young-gil effectively forming a joint front, while incumbent Jung Cheong-rae, seeking a consecutive term, stands against the pro-Myeong candidates.

In the Supreme Council race, five pro-Myeong candidates and three pro-Chung candidates will compete for the final five seats.

As a result of the preliminaries, 5 out of 11 broad pro-Myeong candidates advanced, while all 3 pro-Chung candidates made it to the main race.

Pro-Myeong lawmakers Park Sung-jun and Lee Kun-tae, who had led the "Gathering for the Withdrawal of Prosecution in the President's Case Within the Democratic Party," were eliminated.

Inside and outside the party, analyses are emerging that "supporters of candidate Jung Cheong-rae seemed to have rallied" during the preliminary primaries.

However, during today's Democratic Party leadership meeting, a pro-Myeong Supreme Council member seemingly targeted the pro-Chung faction by raising the "suspicion of the religious group Shincheonji's intervention in the national convention." In response, pro-Chung Supreme Council members pushed back, demanding that they "reveal the evidence," leading to a public clash between the two sides.

[Kang Deuk-gu / Democratic Party Supreme Council Member (Pro-Myeong): If external forces attempted to systematically distort the will of party members, it is something that can never be tolerated.]

[Moon Jung-bok / Democratic Party Supreme Council Member (Pro-Chung): An unprecedented comedy is taking place. Is there really any basis for this?]

The joint prosecution and police investigation headquarters stated today that they have captured circumstances indicating Shincheonji followers in certain metropolitan areas joined the Democratic Party, and are investigating the possibility that they attempted to influence internal party primaries for the June 3 local elections and other events.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party finalized the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority as its official party platform through a general meeting of lawmakers today.

Even some pro-Myeong lawmakers, who had previously argued for its limited retention, raised no objections to its prompt handling ahead of the national convention.

(Video by: Oh Young-chun, Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by: Wee Won-yang | Design by: Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.