What About Renewal Competition?... Three Ruling Party Presidential Candidates Say "Start with Pro-Moon"

Core Pro-Moon Leader Yoon Ho-jung's Overwhelming Victory Confirms Pro-Moon Faction's Presence
Song Young-gil Mentions 'Candlelight Rally' to Woo Support... Woo Won-shik Praises Blue House Personnel
Hong Young-pyo: "We Will Build the 4th Democratic Party Government"... First Debate Today in Gwangju

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Jeon Jin-young] The three candidates running for the Democratic Party leader election simultaneously sought to capture the pro-Moon Jae-in (Chinmun) vote on the 19th. This is not unrelated to the fact that pro-Moon core figure Yoon Ho-jung won a landslide victory in the floor leader election held on the 16th, reaffirming the presence of the pro-Moon faction within the party. The lawmakers Song Young-gil (5-term), Woo Won-shik (4-term), and Hong Young-pyo (4-term), confirmed in the party leader preliminary election on the 18th, emphasized in unison ‘One Team’ and ‘Regime Re-creation,’ and on this day, held their first TV debate in Gwangju, the ruling party’s stronghold, focusing on capturing the ‘home base’ vote.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day, Representative Song visited the memorial site to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the April 19 Revolution and mourn the victims, following the same footsteps as President Moon Jae-in. Song posted on Facebook, "From the April 19, 1960, May 18, 1980, June Struggle of 1987, to the Candlelight Revolution of 2017... the journey of the people toward democracy was a journey of sweat and tears to achieve a free and just Republic of Korea," linking the April 19 Revolution and the 2017 candlelight protests. Mentioning the candlelight protests, which hold special significance for the pro-Moon faction, is interpreted as a politically calculated move. Song, who is considered less pro-Moon, also reached out to the pro-Moon faction on the 18th by expressing empathy for President Moon’s difficulties.

Representative Woo appeared on KBS Radio’s ‘Choi Kyung-young’s Strongest Current Affairs’ on the same day and praised the personnel appointments announced on the 16th as "very well done," making efforts to court the pro-Moon faction. Regarding the appointments of Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and Blue House Political Secretary Lee Cheol-hee, Woo said, "It reflects the president’s will to incorporate the voices of the people by synthesizing various opinions." Among the candidates for party leader, Hong, who is considered the most pro-Moon, held a press conference and said, "Trust Hong Young-pyo, who is strong in crisis and speaks through achievements," expressing his ambition to "create the 4th Democratic Party government through innovation, unity, and victory."

The three candidates visited Honam to appear at the joint TV debate for party leader candidates held in Gwangju in the afternoon, and each carried out local schedules before the debate. After declaring their candidacy by the registration deadline on the 15th, all headed to Honam. Candidate Hong met with Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeollabuk-do, in the morning and declared his candidacy there. Candidate Woo appeared on a Gwangju local radio broadcast, then held a meeting at a jewelry store in Seo-gu, Gwangju, to listen to the voices of small business owners affected by COVID-19 and prepare countermeasures. Candidate Song also appeared on a Gwangju local radio program for an interview in the morning.

Although they are working hard to secure the party base to gain party support, some evaluations suggest that their actions are somewhat distant from the public demand for Democratic Party reform. In the party leader preliminary election held on the 18th, all three candidates emphasized party unity but were criticized for expressing relatively less willingness for reform.

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