Hwang Myung-sun: "Did Supreme Council Members Oppose the Innovation Party Merger and 'One Person, One Vote'? Jung Chung-rae Must Correct and Apologize"

Kang Deuk-gu:
"A Candidate Who Repeats Lies
Is Not Qualified to Run for Party Leader"

Hwang Myung-sun and Kang Deuk-gu, Supreme Council members of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed strong opposition to comments made by Jung Chung-rae, a candidate for party leader, who had claimed there were internal disagreements among the leadership, including the Supreme Council, regarding the "one person, one vote" system and the merger with the Reform Party. They argued that candidate Jung, who previously served as party leader, was making false assertions.

After the Supreme Council meeting of the Democratic Party on August 3, Supreme Council member Hwang spoke with reporters and said, "Yesterday, candidate Jung claimed that Supreme Council members gathered together to shake up the party leader in order to implement the one person, one vote system, and also opposed the merger with the Reform Party. However, since this statement is not true, I request a correction and an apology."

He added, "This statement is false and distorted. None of the Supreme Council members, myself included, ever opposed 'one person, one vote'—we in fact agreed on it," and continued, "We also did not oppose merging with the Reform Party. We considered the merger necessary." However, he further emphasized, "What is important is that, before making any such decisions, there should at least be a process of discussion either with the party members and National Assembly members in a general assembly, or, if that is difficult, at least deliberation within the leadership (the Supreme Council) elected by the members."

Hwang Myung-sun, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Supreme Council member Hwang also said, "When the proposal for merger with the Reform Party was made, I received a call past 10 p.m. the night before, but without any mention of the agenda, I was simply asked to attend the Supreme Council meeting. When I attended, I was informed that there would be a merger with the Reform Party," adding, "At the very least, decisions about the party's direction and management should not be announced impulsively at a press conference. I insisted on going through a process of deliberation."

He further stated, "Ahead of the local elections, is it not effectively just a notice when all members are summoned to a meeting without any discussion, dialogue, or deliberation about the party's direction and fate? I merely pointed out that the party should not be run in such a way—it was not opposition for the sake of opposition."

Regarding the one person, one vote system, he explained, "We deliberated on the equal value of votes in strategic districts and improved the system accordingly. In this era of party member sovereignty, we must move toward 'one person, one vote,' and I have said that the delegate system needs reform. The fundamental principle was always party member sovereignty and the one person, one vote system."

Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu also publicly criticized candidate Jung, stating, "At yesterday's convention, my name was brought up regarding the merger. Putting everything else aside, candidate Jung lied, using the president as justification." Kang continued, "If someone deliberately raises such an issue, it could mean the end of a politician's career—this is a grave and dangerous lie. A candidate who repeatedly lies does not deserve to run for party leader."

The previous day, candidate Jung, at a regional leadership election, remarked, "There were discrepancies among the party leader, National Assembly members, and Supreme Council members," further stating, "There were Supreme Council members and National Assembly members who opposed the merger with the Reform Party." He also said, "When the proposal for full party member primaries was made, there were conflicts with lawmakers who were reluctant to give up their vested interests." Jung made these comments while claiming "there were no discrepancies between the party, government, and Blue House."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.