Three-Way Race for Party Leadership 'Lee Jae-myung vs 97 Group'... Supreme Council Battle Between 'Pro-Moon' and 'Pro-Myung' Factions

"'Eodaemyeong' Challenger 97 Group Park Yong-jin and Kang Hoon-sik Respond to Unification Question with 'We Will Discuss'
Supreme Council Members 'Jang Kyung-tae, Park Chan-dae, Ko Young-in, Seo Young-kyo, Ko Min-jung, Jung Cheong-rae, Song Gap-seok, Yoon Young-chan' Among 8 Passed
Final 5 Seats Set for 'Pro Lee Jae-myung (Pro-myeong) vs Pro Moon Jae-in (Pro-moon)' Showdown Begins"

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Jun-i] At the Democratic Party of Korea's party convention to be held on August 28, key points to watch include the unification of the 97 Group (those born in the 1970s and who entered university in the 1990s) amid the prevailing 'Eodaemyeong (Anyway, the leader is Lee Jae-myung)' trend, and the 'Pro-Moon vs. Pro-Myung' showdown among the Supreme Council candidates.

On the 28th, the Democratic Party held a preliminary party leader primary (cut-off) at the National Assembly Members' Office Building from 1 PM to 6 PM, confirming Lee Jae-myung, Park Yong-jin, and Kang Hoon-sik as the candidates advancing to the final party leader election. Initially, eight candidates had declared their intention to run for party leader, including Kim Min-seok, Lee Dong-hak, Kang Byung-won, Park Joo-min, and Seol Hoon, but the preliminary primary narrowed the field down to these three.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day’s party convention, the 'Eodaemyeong' trend was evident. Lee, who repeated "Winning Democratic Party" six times during his policy speech, received enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience. After the event, Lee told reporters, "I sincerely thank the central committee members, party members, and the people who support the Democratic Party for their choice," adding, "I understand this as a mandate for the Democratic Party not to rely on the opposition party’s failures for windfall gains, but to regain the public’s expectations and trust and become a competent party." He continued, "We will ensure the Democratic Party wins the next general election and the following presidential election," emphasizing, "Although the fierce final election remains, I will do my best to discuss the Democratic Party’s development direction and make this a good opportunity to give hope to the people."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, even amid the 'Eodaemyeong' momentum, the breakthrough by Park Yong-jin and Kang Hoon-sik, members of the 97 Group, also draws attention.

While Lee Jae-myung’s passage through the cut-off was considered a foregone conclusion, a strong performance by the 97 Group lawmakers was expected for the remaining two final tickets. With Park Yong-jin and Kang Hoon-sik, both from the 97 Group, securing their spots in the final election, attention now turns to whether unification talks will begin.

After the event, Park told reporters, "I will promptly engage in discussions with Kang to create a winning Democratic Party through unification," adding, "I plan to have a close phone call with Kang before tonight ends."

Regarding this, Kang responded to reporters’ questions about unification, saying, "In principle, we agreed to discuss unification after the cut-off, so I think we should have that discussion," and added, "If Park contacts me, we will discuss the timing of unification."

In the Supreme Council final election, a showdown between the Pro-Myung and Pro-Moon factions is expected to intensify.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the preliminary primary, eight candidates out of a total of 17 for the Supreme Council advanced to the final election: Jang Kyung-tae, Park Chan-dae, Ko Young-in, Seo Young-kyo, Ko Min-jung, Jung Chung-rae, Song Gap-seok, and Yoon Young-chan.

Among them, Ko Min-jung and Yoon Young-chan are considered Pro-Moon, while Park Chan-dae, Jang Kyung-tae, Seo Young-kyo, and Jung Chung-rae are regarded as Pro-Myung lawmakers. Song Gap-seok and Ko Young-in are not clearly Pro-Moon but are classified as 'non-Myung faction.' From their policy speeches, Pro-Myung lawmakers supported Lee Jae-myung’s party leader momentum, while Pro-Moon lawmakers mentioned responsibility for election defeats, clearly showing contrasting stances.

Meanwhile, the candidates who passed the preliminary primary will tour nationwide regions including Gangwon, Gyeongsang, Jeju, Chungcheong, Honam, Incheon, and Seoul-Gyeonggi over the next month until the party convention on August 28 to promote their policies.

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