With internal competition intensifying ahead of the Democratic Party of Korea's convention on Aug. 17, lawmakers aligned with the pro-parent faction (pro-Jung Chung-rae) who are running for supreme council member publicly called on former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to step down.
Lawmakers Lee Sung-yoon, Han Min-soo and Choi Min-hee, pro-parent faction candidates for the supreme council, held a news conference at the National Assembly on the morning of the 22nd and urged the former prime minister to resign. Han said, "Candidate Kim Min-seok should apologize and resign immediately," adding, "Kim's baseless claim is no different from saying that the Democratic Party of Korea should also be subject to investigation."
He went on to say, "To gain an advantage in his own election, he is portraying our Democratic Party of Korea, the party he belongs to, as an unconstitutional party that violated the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state."
The pro-parent faction's demand for resignation stemmed from remarks the former prime minister made on the 21st after meeting with reporters following a forum of party leader candidates at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, where he said, "Breaking the three-way alliance of anti-Myung, divisiveness, and Shincheonji is the essence of this convention."
The former prime minister added, "There will be an opportunity to explain step by step regarding Shincheonji," and said, "We need to examine one by one things like the fact that a special counsel on Shincheonji did not proceed." He was referring to how the "Unification Church and Shincheonji special counsel" pushed earlier this year fell through, effectively taking aim at the Jung Chung-rae leadership.
Lee said, "If you are confident, do not just make noise—present the evidence immediately," adding, "Inflating suspicions without presenting evidence is an act of disregarding party members." Choi also stressed, "Demand that the evidence be presented quickly," and added, "If that evidence is not valid or there is none, there should be party-level action against candidate Kim Min-seok."