Jung Chung-rae declares bid for Democratic Party leadership, vows to stand by President Lee

Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae on Monday declared his candidacy for party leader, pledging to "stand by President Lee Jae Myung to the end, as one team and one voice between the party, government and presidential office, just as we have done until now."

Jung held a press conference at the National Assembly that afternoon to formally announce his candidacy, saying, "The person who will remain loyal to President Lee to the very end is Jung Chung-rae, who has always put the party before himself."

He said, "The path ahead can be seen by looking at the road already traveled," adding that he would "lay down everything and give all he has to ensure the stable governance of the Lee Jae Myung administration and secure a successive term in power."

Jung also said he would "not use the party leader post to run for president."

On a potential merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party, he said the effort "failed due to strong opposition, and it is deeply regrettable that a full membership vote could not be held." He added that if he becomes party leader, he would put the question of a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party to a vote of all party members.

Reflecting on the June 3 local election results, Jung said the party's failure to retake Seoul was "painfully disappointing, even though we won 12 regional government heads and 119 district-level government heads." He vowed to "repay the party's efforts with a general election victory, based on the findings of the party's local election review committee."

He added, "Just as all power flows from the people, all party authority flows from the members," and pledged to "honor the will of party members and build the Democratic Party into a stronger, more capable and more democratic party of member sovereignty."