Party leader Jung Chung-rae and other party leadership figures, who received a "no-confidence" message from President Lee Jae-myung, have effectively declared a counterattack, saying they will investigate the impact of the "fabricated indictment" and "Starbucks issue" on the local elections through a white paper review of the vote.
These issues drew attention as topics that, when raised by President Lee Jae-myung before the local elections, were seen as rallying conservative voters. In effect, a fierce standoff is unfolding between the presidential office, which seeks to place responsibility for the Seoul mayoral election defeat on the party leadership, and the ruling party's leadership faction, which argues the blame lies with the presidential office and the pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) camp.
Secretary-General Cho Seung-rae appeared on Kim Eo-jun's News Factory on Monday and said, "We will also analyze various topics that became issues during the election process." He added, "I believe we need a tracking investigation into how party and ruling government officials sent out messages on issues such as the fabricated indictment problem and the Starbucks problem, and how the public responded."
This is interpreted as effectively targeting the pro-Lee camp and President Lee. The analysis stems from claims that the pro-Lee camp's push for a parliamentary investigation into the fabricated indictment and the introduction of a special prosecutor triggered a rallying of conservative voters in the local elections. President Lee also attempted a head-on response to the controversy over the gathering to withdraw charges against him, stating in March, "Fabricating evidence and fabricating cases is worse than robbery, kidnapping, or murder."
In addition, Secretary-General Cho predicted that the timing of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's expressed intention to run for party leadership also had a negative impact on the election. "Around the time of early voting, talk about party leadership suddenly began to surface continuously, and I think this had a bad influence on the public," he said.
Secretary-General Cho said the local election white paper containing such content would be released before the party convention. The remark signals an intention not to hold the convention under a framework that places responsibility for the Seoul mayoral election on the leadership. "We aim to complete the white paper before the party convention if possible," Cho explained.
