Jung Chung-rae poised to run again as Democratic Party leadership race reaches turning point

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

The race to lead the Democratic Party of Korea is reaching an early turning point ahead of the party convention scheduled for Aug. 17, when members will elect a new party leader.

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae is widely expected to confirm his bid for re-election despite pressure not to seek another term, with observers anticipating he will step down from the leadership post in the coming days. Once Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and former party leader Song Young-gil return from their respective trips to China and the United States, the convention season is expected to kick into full gear by the end of this week.

At a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Monday, Jung said the core principle of prosecutorial reform is the complete separation of investigation and indictment. "Even if prosecutors are given supplementary investigative powers no bigger than a spoon, they will forge that spoon into a blade — and no one knows when they might turn that blade on the government," he said.

The remarks came after Lee Hwa-young, former deputy governor for peace affairs of Gyeonggi Province, was sentenced to four months in prison on perjury charges under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly in connection with allegations surrounding a so-called "salmon drinking party." Jung added, "Watching the Lee Hwa-young trial, I was reminded again that the prosecution is truly an institution beyond reform."

The presidential office, the government and the party have shown differing views on whether to retain supplementary investigative powers as part of plans to abolish the Prosecution Service and establish a new public indictment agency and a serious crimes investigation agency. President Lee Jae Myung, who had previously held that limited supplementary investigations were necessary, recently stepped back, saying he would leave the matter to the National Assembly to decide.

Political observers say Jung's repeated calls in recent weeks for the complete abolition of supplementary investigative powers are aimed at rallying the party's hard-line membership base ahead of the convention. On June 12, while President Lee was on a European tour, Jung posted "complete abolition of supplementary investigative powers" on his Facebook page. He followed that on Friday with remarks at the Supreme Council meeting declaring, "If there are still prosecutors who cannot let go of their attachment to investigative powers, wake up."

The prevailing view is that Jung will step down around Wednesday. The party has set Friday as the date to form its convention preparatory committee, and analysts expect him to resign around the Supreme Council meeting to be held just before that.

Prime Minister Kim departed Monday on a two-night, three-day trip to China to attend the Summer World Economic Forum — the summer Davos Forum — in what amounts to his final overseas engagement before resigning from the prime ministerial post and returning to party politics. The confirmation hearing for his successor, prime minister nominee Han Sung-sook, is scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Former party leader Song is also traveling to the United States from Tuesday through Saturday. He is scheduled to meet with US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, among others. Song has said his decision on whether to enter the convention race will depend on how Jung conducts himself. Appearing on MBC Radio on Monday, Song said, "There are differences in perspective among Jung, those around him, President Lee, myself, Prime Minister Kim and various other factions," adding, "I think we may be heading toward a situation where those differences have to be put before party members and the public through the convention."

Meanwhile, former National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, who had been mentioned as a potential candidate, declared he would not run. In a statement released Sunday, Woo said, "I have no intention of entering this convention," and urged those who do plan to run to "look as courageously and honestly as possible at the reality our Democratic Party faces."