Ruling Party Clashes Again Over Shincheonji... Kim Minseok: "I'll Do What's Needed"; Choi Minhee: "Disclose the Evidence"

Conflict continues within the Democratic Party of Korea over allegations that Shincheonji members joined the party en masse. After party leader Kim Minseok indicated he was committed to follow-up measures, saying, "I'll do everything that needs to be done," Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee pushed back, saying, "Let's handle this decisively," while demanding that the evidence for and findings of an alleged secret alliance among three groups—anti-Lee factions, Shincheonji, and divisive forces—be disclosed.

On Oct. 15, Kim introduced viewer comments on the Democratic Party's YouTube program "Minty07," saying, "People are telling me to deal firmly with the things that need to be handled," and "If I say I'll do something, I do it." He continued, "Whether it takes time or the process is complicated, we follow every procedure," and "We are doing everything that needs to be done while adhering to the party constitution and rules." The program also featured a comment saying, "You can take a firm line on the Shincheonji issue."

Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, delivers opening remarks at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Oct. 12, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju

That day, Choi posted on social media under the title "Let's get to the bottom of Shincheonji and disclose the truth transparently," writing, "Let's handle this decisively. To do that, let's establish the facts clearly and disclose them."

Choi specifically revisited allegations of a "secret alliance among three groups—anti-Lee factions, Shincheonji, and divisive forces" that Kim had raised during the August 17 party convention. She said, "Neither of the two reports provided evidence of a secret alliance among the three groups," adding, "Who are the anti-Lee forces, and who are the divisive forces? We need to establish whether politicians within the Democratic Party formed an organized secret alliance with Shincheonji."

She again raised concerns about how details of the investigation had been leaked to the media. "We need to find out who engaged in media spin using Shincheonji, and why," Choi said, "even though party leader Kim Minseok had ordered everyone to keep quiet." She continued, "Let's establish the facts clearly and determine who is responsible," emphasizing, "Let's not gloss over this or evade responsibility."

The previous day, the Democratic Party leadership held a closed-door meeting to discuss follow-up measures regarding allegations that Shincheonji members had joined the party en masse. After the meeting, party leader's chief of staff Kim Taeseon said, "We decided to give further thought to how to address the Shincheonji issue before making a decision."

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