President Lee Jae-myung on the 19th invited Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok and lawmakers Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil, who ran in the party convention's leadership election, to Cheong Wa Dae for dinner. The president arranged the meeting to mend the internal strife that had become so extreme during the power struggle that it reached the level of a "psychological split."
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff to the president, and Han Byeong-do, who served as acting party leader and is the floor leader, also attended the dinner. The menu featured "harmony yukhoe," made with signature ingredients from the hometowns of the leadership candidates, and there was an exchange of apologies between the new leader Kim and Rep. Jung. The dinner, which began at 6:30 p.m., reportedly continued well past 11 p.m.
According to Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, the president offered congratulations to leader Kim and conveyed words of consolation and encouragement to lawmakers Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil. He also said, "All three leadership candidates are comrades who have shared life's ups and downs and are responsible protagonists of the popular sovereignty government." The president went on, "The party, government, and presidential office are a community of destiny that shares a historic mission and partners in governing," adding, "Please join forces to make this year the first year of an 'irreplaceable Korea.'"
Leader Kim apologized, saying, "There were some excessive expressions during the party convention process," and then said, "Let's work together for party unity and to support the administration." Although Cheong Wa Dae did not mention specific expressions or targets, it appears there was an exchange of apologies between leader Kim and Rep. Jung. During the primary, leader Kim raised a "Shincheonji interference" claim about Rep. Jung and mounted attacks such as "shell" and "a rigged primary by fake party members."
At the Democratic Party's Aug. 17 convention, infighting between the pro-Lee faction and the pro-Jung faction was so intense that "the theory that President Lee Jae-myung is doomed to defeat" was openly discussed. Yoo Si-min, a key figure in the group supporting Rep. Jung, said the president "is on a path of inevitable failure," and leader Jung fueled controversy by remaining silent about the remarks throughout the primary. Some even said that a majority of the pro-Jung faction's supporters would leave the party.
Even after the victory of leader Kim, who was the pro-Lee candidate, infighting among party members has not subsided. Right after losing, Rep. Jung said on a YouTube live broadcast, "Kim Min-seok won, but his argument lost." In particular, leader Kim failed to win a majority and only won after the preferential voting system was applied, and Kim Yong, the former deputy head of the Democratic Research Institute whom the president had called "like my alter ego," lost in the supreme council race. It effectively confirmed that the strength of the pro-Jung faction, which had taken a confrontational stance against the president, amounts to 45.92%.
However, at the dinner Rep. Jung said, "We are comrades and brothers in arms who crossed the line of fire together during the 12·3 martial law rebellion," and added, "As a community of destiny with the Lee Jae-myung administration, we must join forces to recreate the government by winning the general and presidential elections." Rep. Song, mentioning the real estate tax system, said, "Coordination between the party and the presidential office is necessary." He also expressed regret over the controversies raised during the party convention process, saying, "I want to clear up misunderstandings with comrade Jung Chung-rae," according to Cheong Wa Dae.
Hong said, "Those who attended the dinner agreed to do their utmost for the success of the popular sovereignty government as a 'stronger one team,'" adding, "To deliver results that all people can feel, they decided to communicate and cooperate more closely in their respective positions."