Ruling Party and Opposition Clash Over 'Text Bombing'... "Reform Faction Needed" vs "Elected Officials Must Endure"

Jo Eungcheon "Voice of 700,000 Party Members Buried by 2,000 Hardline Supporters"
Lee Jaejung "If You Intend to Ignore Party Members, You Lack Qualification for Party Politics"

Cho Eung-cheon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] In the Democratic Party of Korea, internal tensions are escalating over the 'text bomb' attacks by hardcore supporters. When Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon publicly criticized the so-called 'Moonpa,' the party's hardcore supporters, fellow party members Yoon Gun-young and Lee Jae-jung, who are considered pro-Moon (친문), rebutted him.

Cho, regarded as a moderate within the party, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 29th and said, "A so-called non-mainstream or reformist group needs to be formed for hope to arise in next year's presidential election," adding, "I think at least 10 to 20 people should gather, putting their names on the line, to form such a group."

He continued, "Because about 2,000 hardcore supporters are so actively involved, the voices of 700,000 (party members with voting rights) are drowned out by these 2,000," he pointed out.

Along with this, Cho also revealed some of the text messages he received from hardcore supporters. Most were mocking messages such as, "If you wanted to let people know that you are trash, you succeeded, congratulations," "You and your gang should all leave the party and stop tarnishing the Democratic Party's name," and "No matter how hard you try, you are a person who doesn't even reach the dirt on the tip of their toes. Yes, I'm talking about you."

He also urged the soon-to-be-formed new leadership of the Democratic Party to "ask those sending text bombs to exercise restraint," emphasizing, "They should explicitly say, 'Because of you, the public sentiment and party sentiment, which are excessively represented by you, seem to increasingly represent the public sentiment. So please restrain yourselves.'"

Yoon Geon-young, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, Yoon Gun-young, a key pro-Moon figure in the same party, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "The Democratic Party has diverse members. If we compare it to colors, there are really many colors beyond just red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet," adding, "Among them, some colors may stand out. But that doesn't mean those colors erase the others," he rebutted.

He continued, "Democracy is based on diversity, so having various colors should not be a problem," and added, "In the past, even during difficult times, President Roh Moo-hyun once said, 'If criticizing the president helps the sovereign people feel relieved, then do so as much as you want; that is appropriate.'"

Regarding Cho's criticism of the text bombs, he said, "We are elected officials, aren't we? If we are elected officials, we should be able to endure that much," adding, "However, if the content seriously insults personal information or damages honor beyond a certain level, then that is a problem."

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-jung also posted on Facebook that day, saying, "I emphasize again, we are Democratic Party lawmakers. We are not independents," and criticized, "If the effort is not to contemplate the party's future or find reasons for the loss of public support and regain that trust, but rather to insist on 'ignoring' party members, then you are unqualified for party politics."

He also lashed out at Cho, saying, "He talks about party sentiment and fights against party sentiment, but what has he actually done for the 'public sentiment'?" and added, "Honestly, I don't know."

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