"From the People's Perspective, It's an Extremely Unpleasant Story"
"The Democratic Party Is a Party Where Diversity Exists"
Among the strong supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea known as 'Gaeddal,' a so-called 'Watermelon Party Affiliation Identification List' is circulating, listing a total of 168 Democratic Party lawmakers and assessing their tendencies. In this context, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin expressed concerns, recalling the 'Jinbak Identifier' incident that occurred in the past within the Saenuri Party.
On the 6th, Park said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The Democratic Party must not follow the same path that the Saenuri Party took, the path created by the Jinbak Identifier incident."
Park Yong-jin, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea's party leader, holds a press conference at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
'Watermelon' is a derogatory term used to describe people who are different on the outside and inside, referring to non-liberal (非明) figures. Supporters classified five lawmakers?Kang Byung-won, Kim Jong-min, Yoon Young-chan, Choi Jong-yoon, and Hong Young-pyo?as the highest level 'Party Affiliation 5' through the 'Watermelon Out' site, and Park himself was classified as 'Party Affiliation 4.'
However, he pointed out that this could ultimately lead to party division. Park said, "The so-called beginning that led the Saenuri Party to defeat and the Park Geun-hye administration to collapse was the 'Jinbak Identifier.' The watermelon identifier incident must never happen within our Democratic Party. If it does, it will cause division, and division will lead to defeat in the general election."
He added, "'Measuring the party affiliation of watermelons' may seem like a joke now, but even lawmaker Cho Won-jin started to claim 'where I go is the real one,' acting as a Jinbak identifier, which might have started as a kind of joke. However, from the public's perspective, it was a very unpleasant matter," he pointed out.
He continued, "The Democratic Party must remain a party where diversity exists, where differing opinions are respected, and a democratic party that stays close to the people. It must never become a party where one opinion dominates and other dissenting views are ignored or driven out," adding, "That would only move us further away from the path to victory in the general election, as I mentioned earlier."
Regarding whether Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader expected to return soon, will run in the by-election for the Gangseo District Office, he said, "Whether he is discharged from the hospital and wherever he goes, his path must lead to the Democratic Party's victory in the general election. For that, Lee has a role to unify and consolidate the party."
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