From a Supreme Council Boycott to Calls for Expulsion... Pro-Lee and Pro-Jung Factions Clash Head-On in the DPK

[Financial News] The conflict between the pro-Lee Jae Myung faction, which holds the leadership reins in the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and the pro-Jung Chung-rae faction is escalating into an all-out war. After party leader Kim Min-seok ordered an ethics probe into Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee, pro-Jung council members hit back by collectively boycotting a Supreme Council meeting. Calls from the pro-Lee faction to expel Choi have further intensified factional conflict within the party.
According to political sources on the 13th, infighting within the DPK escalated sharply after Supreme Council member Choi referred to President Lee Jae Myung’s past position on the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. When party leader Kim ordered an ethics probe, the pro-Jung faction called it an unjust measure and demanded reform of the party leadership.
Supreme Council member Choi held a press conference that morning to explain the remarks. She then held a joint press conference with Supreme Council members Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo, directly criticizing party leader Kim. The three pro-Jung Supreme Council members also skipped that day’s Supreme Council meeting.
In their joint press statement, they said, “The person who should be investigated by the Ethics Inspection Unit now is party leader Kim,” and claimed that “without anyone prompting him, Kim raised allegations of ‘anti-Lee, divisionism and Shincheonji’ and amplified them single-handedly, plunging the party into confusion and crisis and splitting its members in half.”
They also cited how the findings of an investigation into allegations that Shincheonji members had joined the party en masse were handled, the leadership’s stance on pursuing the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, and disagreements between the party and the government over reforming the comprehensive real estate tax, emphasizing the need for change. Their criticism went beyond Kim personally to challenge the party’s overall management.
The pro-Lee faction immediately counterattacked. At the Supreme Council meeting that day, Supreme Council member Park Sun-won said, “Disparaging remarks about this are not acceptable from anyone in the party leadership,” and called on Choi to “apologize when an apology is called for.” Supreme Council member Jeon Yong-gi also criticized the pro-Jung faction’s collective action, saying, “You say there is no divisionism, but should you really be acting in a way that causes division like this?”
Chief spokesperson Park Seong-jun told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting that the pro-Jung members’ absence was “a very inappropriate collective action that divides the party.” Regarding the order for an ethics probe, Park explained, “The party also considers this a serious matter, which is why it directed the Ethics Inspection Unit to investigate.”
The pro-Lee Democratic National Innovation Council went a step further, calling for Choi’s expulsion. In a statement, the council claimed, “If Choi made outrageous remarks distorting the president’s position, the political responsibility is by no means light.”
There are indications that this clash may not be a one-off dispute. The pro-Jung faction has called for reform targeting Kim’s overall management of the party, and former party leader Jung Chung-rae had earlier signaled a new political move using the 100th day of Kim’s tenure as an occasion. Observers say the struggle for control between the factions could intensify around the 24th, when Kim marks 100 days in office.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter