Rep. Moon Jeong-bok, seen as part of the pro-Cheong (pro-Jung Chung-rae) camp, stepped down from the Democratic Party's supreme council on the 4th.
According to the political community on the 4th, Moon was said to have hinted at resigning from the supreme council, saying, "With only a few days left in the leadership's term, keeping the supreme council post is not a fair competition."
After giving up the supreme council post, Moon is expected to fully support the campaign of former leader Jung Chung-rae, who is continuing his bid for party leadership. As the Democratic Party of Korea stipulates the obligation of neutrality for supreme council members during the national convention under its party constitution and rules, Moon appears to have chosen to relinquish the post and move to open support.
Having served as the pro-Cheong camp's "attacker" on the supreme council, Moon is expected to bolster Jung's campaign, focusing on Gyeonggi, Moon's own district.
Moon also stood at the center of a dispute over the national convention rules on Aug. 17. Pro-Cheong supreme council members, including Moon, had voiced opposition, arguing that introducing a preference voting system and a youth supreme council member system runs counter to the party constitution and rules, clashing with pro-Myung supreme council members in the process.
With Moon's resignation, the Democratic Party of Korea's supreme council will operate with five members until the 17th, when a new leadership is elected. Floor leader Han Byeong-do; pro-Myung lawmakers Hwang Myeong-seon and Kang Deuk-gu; and, from the pro-Cheong camp, Rep. Park Ji-won and Park Gyu-hwan, the Yeongju–Yeongyang–Bonghwa district head, are serving as supreme council members.