Jung Cheongrae: "I Will Do the Fighting, President Lee Jaemyung Should Focus on His Work... I Will Become a Strong Reformist Party Leader"

"I Will Take On the Tough, Difficult, and Confrontational Tasks"
I Will Not Be Dragged Along by the People Power Party's Attempts to Hold Us Back
Pushing for Revival of Local Party Chapters and Institutionalization of All-Member Voting

Jung Cheongrae, a candidate for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated on the 19th, "I will be the one to fight, so President Lee Jaemyung should focus solely on his work," and declared, "I will become a strong, reform-minded party leader."

During a joint speech event for the Chungcheong region held at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Jung said, "There is no victory without a fight, and no stability without victory," emphasizing his point. He added, "I will take on the tough, difficult, and confrontational tasks," and continued, "The flowers and fruits of cooperation, unity, and stability will be credited to the President."

Yonhap News Agency

He stressed the necessity of reform. Jung remarked, "Yoon Sukyeol has been dismissed and sent to prison, but the rebellion is not over yet," and pointed out, "Even in the presidential election held after the 12·3 Martial Law Rebellion, we did not secure 50% of the vote, while they received over 40%." He continued, "Right now, we are at war with the rebellion. Strong leadership is needed during wartime," and added, "Strong reforms always face strong resistance. I will break through this resistance." He also stated, "This is not an era of peace and prosperity," and emphasized, "We must not let our guard down and must maintain the party in a wartime posture."

He said, "I will remove obstacles to reform," and added, "I will not be dragged along by the People Power Party's attempts to hold us back."

Regarding party reform, he stated, "I will usher in an era of party member sovereignty and one-person, one-vote," and added, "For key party policies, I will consult the party members. I will institutionalize all-member voting." He also announced, "I will establish new special committees for regional development and national veterans policies within the party," and added, "I will revive local party chapters. To strengthen local autonomy, I will implement a system where each metropolitan council member is assigned one policy aide."

He further promised, "At the end of the year, we will rent a venue like Sangam World Cup Stadium to hold a concert for party members, and at that event, we will hold an awards ceremony for outstanding party members in each category for the year," and added, "For next year's local elections, we will ensure a fairer nomination process and eliminate unjust candidate cutoffs."