Choi Min-hee enters Aug. 17 party leadership race, vows to 'complete' reform agenda

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Min-hee officially declared her candidacy for supreme council member at the party's Aug. 17 national convention.

"I am running for supreme council member to defend the Democratic Party and serve as a driving force for reform," Choi said Monday.

She said the party must deliver what the times demand: sweeping prosecution reform, uninterrupted media reform, judicial reform that leaves no sacred cows, and irreversible economic reform to improve people's livelihoods. "Once reform begins, it must be completed," she added.

Choi pledged to actively support President Lee Jae Myung's drive to transform South Korea, building on the achievements of former presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in. "I will firmly confront and respond to any attempt to deny this history," she said.

Stressing the need for unity across the broader pro-democracy camp, Choi said the party should draw lessons from the recent local elections — taking the victory in Ulsan as a model and the defeat in Pyeongtaek as a cautionary tale — and pursue integration with democratic reform forces while building solidarity with progressive reform forces.

She also vowed to "protect the Democratic Party in the spirit of Lee Hae-chan," saying she would be a supreme council member who stands firm alongside the party leadership, unmoved by shifting winds.