Jung Chung-rae, a candidate for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 5th criticized as a "voting coup" the argument by pro-Lee supreme council candidates that additional voting opportunities should be given to rights-holding party members who did not vote. "Giving another voting opportunity after voting has ended amounts to post-hoc voting," he said.
Appearing on the YouTube program "Kim Ou-joon's News Factory" that day, Jung said, "If this happens, a riot will break out. Abstention is also an expression of intent, so this is no different from continuing to vote until the turnout reaches 100%." He added, "It is a Democratic Party tradition not to change election rules ahead of a party convention," stressing, "It absolutely cannot be accepted, and it will not be changed."
Jung instead argued that the controversy is working in his favor. "They won't be able to change (the primary rules), but it has been a huge plus for me," he said. "It became an occasion to instill in party members the perception that 'these people would go this far.'"
He also directly countered the "Myung-Chung war" framing that has recently spread inside and outside the party. "President Lee Jae-myung did not run in this party convention," he said. "It would be more accurate to call it the 'Seok-Chung war' (a contest between Kim Min-seok and Jung Chung-rae)." He continued, "Putting the president's name forward to divide pro-Lee and anti-Lee factions does not help the Democratic Party or the Lee Jae-myung administration."
Regarding the suspicion of Shincheonji involvement raised by the Kim Min-seok camp, Jung said it was "200% unrelated." He added, "If I become party leader, I will order an ethics inspection to verify the facts, and if it turns out to be a groundless suspicion, I will push for disciplinary action by the ethics tribunal."
On the outlook for the remaining primaries, Jung said, "The public sentiment I confirmed in Gwangju showed that the wind was stronger than organization." He added, "Just as candidate Roh Moo-hyun beat candidate Lee In-je in 2002, I came with the conviction that Jung Chung-rae's wind will beat Kim Min-seok's organization." He predicted, "If the close race continues in Jeju, Incheon, Gangwon, Daegu, and North Gyeongsang, public sentiment in the Honam region will move significantly."
On the possibility of a come-from-behind defeat under ranked-choice voting, Jung said, "Of course I will accept the result," but added, "I will also persuade my supporters so that I accept the outcome myself." However, he said, "The best scenario is to finish with a majority of the vote," appealing for support by saying, "Please create a comfortable majority victory."
