Lee Jae-myung, on the 'Blood Wednesday' Controversy: "An Innovative Nomination Chosen by the People"

Lee Jae-myung Holds Press Conference After Visiting Yangpyeong Expressway Site
"Do Not Distort the Will of Party Members and the People... Innovation Pains"
Seven Members of the Bimyeong Faction and Nine Incumbents Eliminated in Primary

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, described the large-scale elimination of incumbent lawmakers in the 4th to 6th round of primary elections across 20 constituencies as the "will of the great people and party members," calling it an "innovative nomination and a nomination revolution." After former Blue House Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok accepted the decision to exclude him from the nomination, which had calmed the controversy over 'screaming deaths,' the debate flared up again, prompting Lee to repeatedly emphasize that there were no issues in the nomination process.

At a press conference held in front of Yangpyeong County Office in Gyeonggi Province on the 7th, Lee responded to a question asking, "Did the controversy over screaming deaths resurface due to the primary results announced the day before?" by saying, "There has never been a large-scale elimination of incumbents by party members and the public in any primary," adding, "Party members and the public chose those with competitiveness." During this nomination process, the Democratic Party faced a controversy over Lee Jae-myung's alleged private recommendations, and several members of the 'screaming faction' were pushed out, leading to a chain of defections. Furthermore, with many incumbents eliminated in the primary results announced the previous day, the term 'Bloody Wednesday' even emerged.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is holding a press conference on the morning of the 7th at the sit-in protest site set up in front of Yangpyeong County Office in Gyeonggi Province, urging the investigation into the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway national corruption scandal.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, Lee reiterated that there was no problem with these results. He recalled that the primary voting was conducted as a 'national participation primary' with a 50% general citizen and 50% party member ratio, stating, "You should not view it as a loss for the screaming faction or a gain for the pro-Lee faction," and firmly declared, "That is not true." He added, "While the People Power Party engages in patronage and privileged nominations, undefeated incumbents, and vested interest nominations, the Democratic Party pursues innovative, transparent, and system-based nominations."

He also pointed out, "The ruling party and some malicious media exaggerate and belittle the inevitable pains and growing pains that occur during the process of nomination innovation, portraying them as serious divisions, internal strife, and conflicts." He continued, "Watching yesterday's primary process, people must have thought that the Democratic Party conducts very transparent and fair nominations based on the system," emphasizing, "Now, the wrongful suspicions will disappear."

During the press conference, as questions about the nomination controversy continued, some supporters strongly criticized the reporters with remarks like "Ask proper questions" and "Nonsense questions." In response, Lee said, "Reporters can ask questions from the people's perspective, so I hope they do not overreact."

Earlier, the Democratic Party's Central Election Commission announced the vote count results for the 4th to 6th round primaries at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido the previous night. Among the 20 targeted constituencies, 12 had incumbent lawmakers, and among them, a total of 9 incumbents, including 7 classified as belonging to the screaming faction, were defeated.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is holding a press conference on the morning of the 7th at the sit-in protest site in front of Yangpyeong County Office, Gyeonggi Province, urging the investigation of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway national corruption scandal.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, lawmakers Seol Hoon, Hong Young-pyo, and Park Young-soon, who left the Democratic Party in protest against the lower evaluation notifications considered as a de facto 'cut-off' during the nomination process, held a press conference with Kim Jong-min, co-leader of the New Future Party, and declared the formation of a 'Democratic Alliance' with the New Future faction led by Lee Nak-yeon.

'Pro-Moon faction leader' Hong Young-pyo said at the conference, "We will promote the formation of a Democratic Alliance where true democratic forces and those pursuing political reform can unite," adding, "We will join forces with everyone who hopes for the 'judgment of Yoon Seok-youl' and the 'cleansing of Lee Jae-myung's shield,' including the New Future Party." Additional Democratic Party incumbents and non-parliamentary figures are expected to join by the weekend, and the specific future plans of the 'Democratic Alliance' will be announced on the 12th.

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