Democratic Party leadership race kicks off with five-way clash

Democratic Party of Korea party leader candidates (from left) Kim Bo-mi, Ko Min-jung, Kim Min-seok, Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil pose for a photo at a candidate forum held at the Seoul Metropolitan Council in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

The Democratic Party of Korea launched the first round of its leadership race Tuesday, as five candidates vying to lead the party traded sharp barbs at their opening joint speech rally and continued the exchanges throughout the day.

The party's National Election Commission, chaired by So Byung-hoon, began the preliminary election process Tuesday and will run it through 5 p.m. Thursday, after which it will announce which candidates advance and which are eliminated at the National Assembly members' office building.

Five candidates — Kim Min-seok, Ko Min-jung, Jung Chung-rae, Kim Bo-mi and Song Young-gil, listed in ballot order — have registered for the party leader race. The field will be narrowed to three based on a combined score of votes from central committee members (35 percent), party members (35 percent) and public polling (30 percent).

The supreme council member race, which drew 14 candidates, will be cut to eight through online voting weighted equally between central committee members and party members. Registered candidates include Park Seon-won, Lee Geon-tae, Lee Sung-yoon, Kim Yong, Park Seong-jun, Park Seung-won, Jeong Min-cheol, Han Min-su, Seo Mi-hwa, Choi Min-hee, Kim Yeong-ho, Im Mi-ae, Sin Gye-ryun and Kim Hyeong-nam.

Candidates in both races gathered Monday at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, for the preliminary election joint speech rally, where they appealed to party members by pledging to ensure the success of the Lee Jae Myung administration.

The three frontrunners — Kim Min-seok, Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil — clashed sharply in their first head-to-head encounter. Kim took direct aim at Jung, saying the party must "put an end to the 'Myeong-Cheong' (President Lee Jae Myung–candidate Jung Chung-rae) feud" and that "a party leader who stirs conflict between the party and the government through personal politics and party privatization is unacceptable." He added that "anti-Lee factionalism and divisionism must be judged."

Jung fired back, saying he would "not go negative or blame others" and would "use the language of comrades." "If I am attacked two-on-one or three-on-one, I will take the blows," he said. "But I trust that party members will stand by me through those wounds." Song said "Lee Jae Myung's politics are bound up with Song Young-gil's life — I will protect them," adding that he is "the only candidate for party leader with experience leading a metropolitan government."

Ko Min-jung said the party cannot build a future through "the politics of division — splitting into pro-Lee, anti-Lee, pro-Seok and pro-Cheong factions and pointing fingers at each other." She called for "first solidifying internal cohesion" and "respecting different voices within our ranks." Kim Bo-mi declared she has "no factional ties" and said she would transform the Democratic Party — which she called a party of entrenched "686" insiders — into one where young people can compete on equal terms.

Democratic Party of Korea party leader candidates (front row, from left) Kim Min-seok, Ko Min-jung, Jung Chung-rae, Kim Bo-mi and Song Young-gil pose for a photo before the preliminary election joint speech rally at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Monday. [Yonhap]

The sparring continued Tuesday, a day after the joint rally. Appearing on MBC Radio, Kim sharpened his criticism of Jung, saying "there is really no reason for the party convention to get this rough in the first year of being in power, and more fundamentally, there should be no need for talk of the so-called 'Myeong-Cheong feud' during the first year of the administration." He said "the problem lies with the previous leadership, and that is why the leadership must change."

Song also went on the offensive in a YTN Radio interview, "According to a polling firm, if the vote shares from the June 3 by-elections and local elections are applied directly to a general election, the party would lose 12 seats compared to its current standing, which would leave the Democratic Party with 149 seats and cost it its majority," he said, adding that he "cannot stand by and allow" Jung to serve another term as party leader.

Jung pushed back on Facebook, writing that "those who put 'anti-Lee' in their mouths are the anti-Lee faction, and those who talk of division are the ones driving wedges." "I will speak only of unity and reform," he said. He added: "Those who invoke anti-Lee divisionism are the real anti-Lee divisionists. I will not tear others down or hurl insults. Let us move forward together — on the path of unity and reform."

Amid the exchanges, Ko posted on Facebook that watching the increasingly heated arguments among the candidates, she felt compelled to speak honestly as a junior colleague: she was "ashamed." "I still cannot bring myself to believe that people who sacrificed themselves fighting for democracy are now fighting over nothing more than their own power and pride," she said.

The party leader candidates continued their face-off Tuesday at a candidate forum held at the Seoul Metropolitan Council in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Meanwhile, party leader candidates who clear the cutoff will take part in three televised debates — on July 29 on MBC, and on Aug. 5 and Aug. 12 on KBS and SBS. A debate for supreme council member candidates is scheduled for Aug. 3 on OBS.

bigroot@heraldcorp.com