Shincheonji-Linked Factional Feud Rages Despite Intervention by Senior Lawmakers
As factional infighting within the Democratic Party of Korea over the Shincheonji allegations widens, senior figures including Park Beom-kye, Woo Won-shik and Park Jie-wui stepped in to mediate as of the 13th, but former party chief Chung Chung-rae pushed back sharply, calling any pressure on the victim to settle "another form of secondary victimization," deepening the party's internal strife.
According to political circles on the 13th, as the factional feud over the Shincheonji suspicions spread within the Democratic Party, senior lawmakers such as Rep. Park Beom-kye, former National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and Rep. Park Jie-wui called one after another for reconciliation. However, with former Chairman Chung and his allies refusing to tone down their offensive, the party's infighting has only deepened.
Four-term lawmaker Park Beom-kye appeared on News1 TV's "Fact & View" the previous day, saying, "It is not desirable for former Chairman Chung to frame the Shincheonji controversy in a binary way as 'justice versus injustice' when Chairman Kim Min-seok has apologized three times." He assessed Kim's offer of dialogue as "a very advanced position," and flatly rejected calls from Chung's allies for Kim's resignation, saying, "That is out of the question."
Five-term veteran and former Assembly Speaker Woo also said on YTN Radio on the 11th, "With the ruling party fighting all the time, how can it win the public's trust? The two must meet and resolve this." Rep. Park Jie-wui said on MBC's "News Outside," "I implore Chairman Kim and former Chairman Chung to meet and talk. If the Democratic Party goes down, Chung Chung-rae goes down with it." Chairman Kim Min-seok himself appeared on the party's YouTube channel, saying, "I think it is good to resolve this through dialogue," adding, "That is what I intend to do, and I am making those efforts."
However, former Chairman Chung's response was less acceptance of mediation than outright rebuttal. On Facebook, he argued, "This is not an assault case that broke out over drinks between Kim Min-seok and Chung Chung-rae. It is not a matter the two of us can settle by meeting alone," and "Pressuring the victim to agree to a settlement is another form of secondary victimization." To former Speaker Woo he retorted, "Are you saying the guilty and the innocent should be punished equally?" and to Rep. Park Jie-wui he wrote, "Stop playing judge and butt out."
Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee, an ally of Chung, also claimed on Facebook, "If the party's senior figures truly want a resolution, they should first sort out the truth behind the secret tripartite alliance of traitors, Shincheonji and separatism."
