The conflict within the party is not subsiding as there are conflicting interpretations between factions regarding the results of the Democratic Party of Korea's investigation into the suspicions of the Shincheonji group joining the party.
The pro-Myung (pro-Lee Jae-myung) faction of the party claims that a meaningful number has been confirmed and that institutional safety measures are needed, but the pro-Cheong (pro-government Cheongnae) faction is strengthening its theory of responsibility toward leader Kim Min-seok, saying there is no evidence to support the 'theory of intervention at the national convention'.
Starting on the 6th, the Democratic Party began the process of reviewing the results of the investigation into the Shincheonji suspicions targeting active members of the National Assembly and regional committee chairs at the party's Secretary General's Office.
It is reported that among the 14,000 general members believed to be members of Shincheonji, about 8,000 are members of the Right Party. Additionally, the Democratic Party leadership reportedly estimated that the number of Shincheonji Rights Party members with voting rights at the August 17 National Convention was 3,300.
Regarding the results of this investigation, Jo Gye-won, a spokesperson for the party's ruling faction, appeared on the party's YouTube channel on the 9th and said, "The situation has been revealed that a pseudo-religious group has systematically joined in order to interfere in the democratic decision-making and election process of the Democratic Party."
Spokesperson Cho claimed, “Such areas are clearly visible in the Honam region, including Gwangju, Jeollanam-do and North Jeolla Province, but there are also areas where there are only one or a few people,” and added, “Rather, I think these things clearly reveal the circumstances of organized membership.”
He emphasized, "We must use this as an opportunity to resolve this issue at the party level," and added, "We must establish a system that can strongly control and punish dual party membership or membership that systematically distorts the party's democratic decision-making."
On the other hand, the pro-Cheong faction raised questions about the results of the investigation and launched an offensive against Representative Kim, who raised related suspicions.
At the Supreme Council meeting held in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Lee Seong-yoon, a member of the pro-Blue faction, criticized, "What was confirmed through private viewing was that the allegations of a secret three-party alliance or organized intervention between 'anti-myeong, schismatics, and Shincheonji' were, as the party leader himself admitted, clear lies without evidence and a successful political operation."
He then raised his voice, saying, “According to media reports, there were about 3,300 Shincheonji members who had voting rights at this convention, or only 0.4% of the total number of voters.” He then raised his voice, asking, “But is it true that they have been tearing apart our party for three months with only 0.4%?”
He also said, "A true apology must be made by fully disclosing the results of the investigation, acknowledging what was wrong, directly apologizing to the victim party members, and even promising to prevent recurrence," and added, "We must bear correspondingly strict responsibility."
Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee wrote on Facebook that day, targeting Spokesperson Cho, "The party spokesperson said it was 'serious' and false numbers were being fabricated and rumors were being spread. Wouldn't it be better to fully disclose the circumstances of obtaining the list and the investigation data?"
Some in the party also sense fatigue over the conflict surrounding the survey results.
Rep. Kim Eui-gyeom, the ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, pointed out on KBS radio that day, "I hope that Representative Kim Min-seok does not make comments like 'This is the truth, the suspicions still remain' when he has apologized (for raising suspicions)."
Representative Song Young-gil, who challenged the party leadership at the last national convention, also announced a press conference after reading the results of the Shincheonji investigation this afternoon, so attention is being paid to what kind of remarks he will make.
Meanwhile, the party leadership's position is that they will proceed with the improvement of the party's system according to the procedures according to the results of the investigation.
Chief Spokesperson Park Seong-joon said in a briefing that day, "There is an overall opinion among lawmakers that we should move forward with the matter," and added, "We are in the process of proceeding in an orderly manner because we have said that we will make self-cleaning efforts and even improve the system on a larger scale."
