Calls grow for Jung Chung-rae to take responsibility as Democratic Party eyes leadership race

Despite sweeping the June 3 local elections nationally, the Democratic Party of Korea's failure to reclaim the Seoul mayoral seat has triggered calls for party leader Jung Chung-rae to take responsibility — and set the stage for a factional showdown over the next party leadership race.

Political sources said Friday that a narrative is gaining traction inside the Democratic Party framing the June 3 results as a defeat, pointing to the symbolic and political weight of losing Seoul. Because Seoul has long been the bellwether of every election cycle, the fallout is seen as unavoidable.

Assembly member Yoon Jun-byeong said on Facebook on Wednesday that "while the June 3 local elections may look like a victory on the surface, if the Democratic Party narrowly lost the Seoul mayoral race, it cannot be called a complete win." Assembly member Park Beom-gye wrote on the same platform: "It may not be a defeat, but it is a failure. It is embarrassing to call the overall results a victory. This was something of a failed election — and yet there has been not a single word of accountability from anyone."

Particularly sharp criticism has come from figures pushed out during the candidate nomination process, with their frustration erupting the moment the election ended. Kim Young-rok, a former South Jeolla Province governor who lost a primary election, declared all-out war, saying he would "devote everything from this moment to removing Jung Chung-rae as party leader." Kim Kwan-young, who ran as an independent after being expelled from the Democratic Party over cash distribution allegations and lost, also said the "Jung Chung-rae faction that ran an unfair nomination process must be held accountable, and the Democratic Party must be restored to what it should be."

Jung and his allies in the party leadership have pushed back by emphasizing the election's overall results. At a press conference Wednesday, Jung said he was "heartbroken" over failing to retake Seoul, but declared the outcome a major victory, saying he was "deeply grateful to the people of the country for delivering a great win for the Democratic Party nationwide." Secretary-General Jo Seung-rae added: "The fact that there are regrets does not mean it was not a victory."

The diverging factional readings of the local election results are expected to ignite the party convention now roughly two months away. Song Young-gil, a former party leader seen as Jung's main rival who won the Incheon Yeonsu-gap by-election, went on the offensive Wednesday in a radio interview, citing the nomination controversy in North Jeolla Province and saying there was "no need to even debate leadership responsibility — the party convention is right around the corner, and that is where the judgment will be rendered." Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, another leading contender for the party leadership, is also widely expected to resign from his post soon and enter the race, a move that would push the battle over the Democratic Party's internal power structure to its peak.