All Three Pro-Chung Candidates Win Supreme Council Seats... Kim Yong Eliminated

[Anchor]

The Democratic Party has elected three pro-Chung members—Choi Min-hee, Lee Seong-yun, and Han Min-su—and two pro-Myung members, Park Sun-won and Seo Mi-hwa, as its new Supreme Council members. Kim Yong, a pro-Myung candidate who competed fiercely for the decisive fifth-place spot, was eliminated.

Reporting from Ha Jeongyeon.

[Reporter]

The national convention has finalized the five elected Supreme Council members who will work alongside newly elected Party Leader Kim Min-seok.

In the Supreme Council race, Representative Choi Min-hee took first place with 18.35 percent of the vote, securing the position of senior Supreme council member. She was followed by Park Sun-won with 17.57 percent, Seo Mi-hwa with 16.60 percent, Lee Seong-yun with 16.35 percent, and Han Min-su with 15.86 percent.

Candidate Kim Yong, who had been locked in a tight battle for the safe fifth-place threshold, finished sixth with 15.26 percent of the vote and ultimately missed out on a seat.

On August 15, fellow pro-Myung Supreme Council candidates Kim Young-ho and Lim Mi-ae had stepped down to urge support for Kim Yong, but he ultimately failed to secure a leadership spot.

Among the five newly elected Supreme Council members, three are pro-Chung—Choi Min-hee, Lee Seong-yun, and Han Min-su—while two are pro-Myung, Park Sun-won and Seo Mi-hwa.

Although Party Leader Kim Min-seok still has the prerogative to appoint two additional Supreme Council members, elected Supreme Council members hold a distinct political standing and are expected to exert considerable influence over party operations.

The Supreme Council race has been marked by intense psychological warfare and signs of internal friction.

[Interview / Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Representative : Suddenly, a bombshell declaration came out that the essence of this national convention is to break a three-way secret alliance of anti-Myung, divisionism, and Shincheonji. If it was a baseless attack, accountability should be demanded in reverse.]

[Interview / Seo Mi-hwa / Democratic Party Representative : How has the Democratic Party leadership been over the past year? At critical moments, it fell out of step with the government. (Even in the past local elections) we failed to retake Seoul. It reached a point where people even called us the ruling opposition party.]

A full meeting attended by newly elected Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok and the newly elected Supreme Council members is scheduled to be held in Busan tomorrow, August 19.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video by Kim Yong-woo, Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin)