Former Democratic Party leader Chung Chung-rae, who ran in the party's leadership race, voiced grievances about rival candidate and former leader Song Young-gil during a dinner with President Lee Jae-myung on the 19th, according to an account relayed by a party official. Although Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok has been working to unify the party since the national convention, concerns are mounting that resentment between factions built up during what was described as an unprecedented contest has not fully dissipated.
Park Sun-won, a member of the party's Supreme Council, appeared on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show" on the 27th and described a conversation he had with Song about the dinner between the president and the leadership candidates on the 19th. Park said he asked Song what had been discussed after he came out from meeting the president, and quoted Song as saying that Chung had directed a great deal of complaint and criticism at him.
Park relayed Song's account that Chung had said at the gathering, in effect, that Song had singled him out for attack and heavily criticized him during the primary. President Lee then told Song to offer a word of apology, and Song conveyed his regret to Chung, according to the account. During the primary, Song had attacked Chung with pointed language, calling him a traitor who would have been beheaded in earlier times and a stalker.
Park, who attended a dinner with the president on the 25th that also served as an introductory meeting for the new leadership, exchanged a "love shot" with Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee, a Chung ally who had competed against him in the Supreme Council race, as the two argued over who was more genuinely loyal to the president. Describing the moment, Park said Choi had claimed to be extremely pro-Lee, so he proposed that they keep it simple and settle on being pro-Lee together, since they all were. He said Kim then suggested they do a love shot, and they did. Park stressed the need for unity, saying this is not the time for infighting. He said a primary within the ruling party passes like a storm in a teacup, and the mission is to navigate the waves bearing down on the daily lives of the Korean people.
Park criticized Yoo Si-min, a commentator aligned with the broader ruling bloc who has repeatedly taken aim at President Lee in recent weeks, saying a commentator should maintain at least a minimum of objectivity and distance, but that Yoo appeared to regard the leadership race as a personal defeat. He said Yoo is nearly 70 years old and that such commentary is not commentary but an expression of emotion, adding that if Yoo wants to play the role of a politician, he should simply go into politics.
