"Responsibility of the Ruling Party" Sparks Controversy: 'Myeong-Cheong War' Heats Up

[Anchor]

Following a social media message from President Lee Jae-myung, currently on a tour of Europe, emphasizing the "responsibility of the ruling party" last weekend, tensions between the pro-Myeong (Lee Jae-myung) and pro-Cheong (Jeong Cheong-rae) factions within the Democratic Party have escalated over how to interpret his words. The atmosphere has grown even more unsettled today (June 15) after a public opinion poll showed the approval rating for the People Power Party has surpassed that of the Democratic Party.

Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Regarding President Lee Jae-myung's social media message about the "responsibility of the ruling party," there have been conflicting interpretations within the Democratic Party: the pro-Myeong faction claims it was aimed at Representative Jeong Cheong-rae, while the pro-Cheong faction argues that the President's intentions are being distorted.

This was the first leadership meeting held since the message was released.

Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu, a member of the pro-Myeong faction, opened the floor by citing the poll results released today.

[Kang Deuk-gu/Supreme Council Member, Democratic Party: We have allowed the People Power Party to pull ahead outside the margin of error. We must all be on alert as we face these poll results.]

According to a survey of 1,002 people nationwide conducted by pollster Realmeter on the 11th and 12th, the Democratic Party recorded 38% in party approval ratings, while the People Power Party recorded 44.3%.

The gap in approval ratings is outside the margin of error, and by mentioning the "reversal in approval ratings" in front of Representative Jeong, it was effectively a move to raise the issue of accountability.

Supreme Council members from the pro-Cheong faction defended Representative Jeong.

[Lee Sung-yoon/Supreme Council Member, Democratic Party: Reforms such as prosecution reform, one-person-one-vote, and becoming a party of party member sovereignty must not stop or retreat.]

[Park Gyu-hwan/Supreme Council Member, Democratic Party: The party should focus on party matters, and the cabinet should focus on the work of the cabinet.]

With the August 17 national convention approaching, it appears as though a "proxy war" is unfolding. Representative Jeong did not mention President Lee's "responsibility of the ruling party" message at all, instead offering only praise.

[Jeong Cheong-rae/Representative, Democratic Party: President Lee Jae-myung is establishing himself as a world-class global leader.]

Kim Min-seok, who has officially announced his candidacy for the party leadership, appeared on a radio program today. When asked to evaluate Representative Jeong's performance as party leader, he avoided a direct answer, stating, "Since the results were unsatisfactory and can hardly be called a victory—to the point where everyone needs to reflect—I believe the evaluation will take place amidst that reflection."

(Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Park Sun-soo | Design: Han Heung-soo, Seo Seung-hyun, Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.