[Anchor]

With the Democratic Party's national convention scheduled for August 17, Party Leader Jung Chung-rae resigned from his post today (June 24). Stating that he would focus solely on the will of the people and the party, his move is interpreted as a de facto officialization of his bid for a consecutive term. Immediately after his resignation, he also met with former President Moon Jae-in.

Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Two days before the formation of the August 17 National Convention Preparatory Committee, the Democratic Party held a Supreme Council meeting this morning.

Party Leader Jung Chung-rae announced that he would step down from his position, saying he had spent several sleepless nights.

He also made remarks that sounded like a declaration of his bid for a consecutive term.

[Jung Chung-rae/Democratic Party Leader: Even if the path ahead is a thorny road of hardship, I will walk my path looking only at the public sentiment and the party sentiment.]

Seemingly conscious of opposition from some pro-Lee Jae-myung factions, he also emphasized his loyalty to President Lee Jae-myung.

[Jung Chung-rae/Democratic Party Leader: No matter what anyone says, the person who will protect President Lee Jae-myung until the end is me, Jung Chung-rae.]

He also highlighted his commitment to clarity, such as prosecution reform, stating, "While the Lee Jae-myung administration advocates for moderate pragmatism, we cannot pause the tasks of reform for even a moment."

A public war of words also broke out between pro-Lee Jae-myung and pro-Jung Chung-rae Supreme Council members.

[Kang Deuk-gu/Democratic Party Supreme Council Member (Pro-Lee Jae-myung faction): The Democratic Party is in the same boat as the Lee Jae-myung administration. There cannot be two captains on a ship.]

[Moon Jeong-bok/Democratic Party Supreme Council Member (Pro-Jung Chung-rae faction): President Lee Jae-myung is the captain of the Republic of Korea, and the captain of our Democratic Party ship is Party Leader Jung Chung-rae.]

In the afternoon, Leader Jung visited the Seoul International Book Fair.

[Jung Chung-rae/Democratic Party Leader: Ah, when is the President arriving?]

He went to meet former President Moon Jae-in, who was in Seoul to attend the event, without prior coordination. After waiting for a while and speaking with the former President, Jung told reporters after the meeting, "He held my hand warmly so I could feel his warmth, and he patted me on the back."

Amid observations from inside and outside the party that Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Representative Song Young-gil, considered his rivals for party leadership, might form an "anti-Jung Chung-rae alliance," some interpreted Jung's meeting with former President Moon as an attempt to consolidate pro-Moon supporters.

It was reported today that Representative Song mentioned a plan to unify with Prime Minister Kim during a private dinner with President Lee Jae-myung on the 18th.

[Park Jie-won/Democratic Party Representative (CBS Radio 'Park Sung-tae's News Show'): (Representative Song Young-gil) said he would create a plan to go into a three-way race and eventually unify with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.]

Prime Minister Kim and Representative Song, who are currently visiting China and the United States respectively, are also expected to officially announce their bids for party leadership soon.

(Reported by Oh Young-chun and Kim Seung-tae | Video by Nam Il)