"Disclose Everything" – Kim Min-seok Clashes Face-to-Face…Democratic Party Leadership Fracture Confirmed

The Democratic Party of Korea leadership has clashed publicly over suspicions of mass membership entry by Shincheonji members. Supreme Council members raised their voices at the Supreme Council meeting presided over by Chief Kim Min-seok, with intra-party factional conflict emerging as a fracture within the leadership.

According to political circles on the 23rd, at the Democratic Party Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yun argued, "The investigation results regarding the Shincheonji involvement suspicions that have divided our party and wounded members must be disclosed as they are to the people and party members."

In response, Supreme Council member Park Sun-won, who served as head of the member vetting task force (TF), countered, "Fine, disclose everything." At the end of the meeting, he stated directly to Chief Kim, "I will disclose everything. I am the responsible party. Why shouldn't we do this?" expressing his intention to make the announcement himself.

As Chief Kim appeared flustered, the leadership switched to a closed-door session, and no immediate disclosure of the investigation results was made.

This conflict stems from the suspicions of "anti-rationalism, factionalism, and secret Shincheonji alliance" raised by Chief Kim during the Democratic Party's national convention last August.

Subsequently, the Democratic Party formed a task force to begin an investigation, and on the 13th, media reports stated that an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Shincheonji members had joined the Democratic Party. However, specific membership scale and whether there was organizational involvement have not been disclosed.

Supreme Council members Lee, classified as the "pro-Jung Cheong-rae faction," Choi Min-hee, and former Chief Jeong Cheong-rae are demanding disclosure of the investigation results. In contrast, Chief Kim and the leadership are taking a cautious stance, citing the need for careful review considering the possibility of expanded intra-party conflict.

Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-jun stated that day, "There had been some consensus among Supreme Council members not to announce it," while adding that "further discussion is needed."

This clash has also led to controversy over Chief Kim's intra-party leadership. This is because, amid ongoing controversy surrounding recent remarks by Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae about "fire department financial straws" and the party's warning measures, the leadership's internal conflict has been expressed publicly.

As the party chief's allegations are under discussion yet the leadership cannot even agree on whether to disclose the investigation results, evaluations suggest that Democratic Party Chief Kim Min-seok's intra-party integration and leadership command, more than two months into his tenure, are being put to the test.