Democratic Party leadership candidate Chung Chung-rae continued his offensive against rival candidate Kim Min-seok today (the 3rd), stating, "Loyalty has no total limit, and neither does betrayal."

Speaking at a party member talk concert held at the Gangneung Cultural Center in Gangwon Province today, candidate Chung remarked, "There is no rule that says someone who betrays once will never betray a second time."

Chung repeatedly brought up the so-called "Hudanhyup" (Candidate Unification Consultative Council) incident from 2002, criticizing Kim's past actions and defining them as a "betrayal of the party and its members."

Regarding Kim's history of leaving the party during the 2002 presidential election while advocating for the unification of candidates Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Mong-joon, Chung pointed out, "When President Roh Moo-hyun's approval ratings dropped, they shook him up, and eventually betrayed him to fly over to Chung Mong-joon. That was the first betrayal."

Raising his voice, he asked, "Can you trust someone who ran away from home for 18 years and now comes back demanding the house deed?"

He also mentioned that four years ago, in a media interview, Kim blamed then-President Lee Jae-myung, who was the party's general election campaign committee chairperson at the time, for the local election defeat, claiming, "He is attacking Chung Chung-rae in the exact same manner now."

He added, "I believe this is the second betrayal against the party and its members."

As the "third betrayal," he cited the allegations raised by Kim regarding Shincheonji's political involvement.

Chung stated, "It is an attack on the party and has inflicted deep wounds on party members. If I become party leader, I will exercise my authority to order an ethics inspection into lawmaker Kim Min-seok for putting the party at risk by raising these Shincheonji suspicions."

He further emphasized, "If the inspection results show that these allegations are absurd and completely groundless, I will immediately refer lawmaker Kim Min-seok to the Ethics Tribunal for disciplinary action. Only by doing this can we defend ourselves against attacks from the People Power Party."

(Photo: Yonhap News)