Ko Min-jung says Jung Chung-rae must 'bear the weight of the crown'

Ko Min-jung, a candidate in the Democratic Party of Korea's leadership election, said Wednesday that former President Moon Jae-in would have "endured to the end" amid the factional tensions surrounding the party convention.

Appearing on MBC Radio's "News High Kick with Jo Seung-won" on Wednesday, Ko was asked how she thought Moon viewed the current state of the Democratic Party. "He must be deeply saddened," she said, adding that Moon "knows better than anyone the cycle of division and unity the Democratic Party has gone through."

She then said that if Moon were in the same position, "he would not have fought back even when attacked — he would have endured." She stressed that "conflict grows when both sides engage, so if one side stops, the fight cannot continue."

On the ongoing tensions during the convention process, Ko urged the candidates to show restraint, saying, "No matter how much those around them try to intervene, nothing will be resolved unless the parties involved stop themselves."

When the host noted that fellow candidate Jung Chung-rae was employing an "underdog strategy" by framing the race as two or three candidates ganging up on him, Ko said Jung "would not be under this level of attack if he had not been the immediate past party leader." She added, "He should think of it as the weight of the crown."

Ko said many Democratic Party candidates had been hurt in the local elections, and that even if Jung had not intentionally caused anyone pain, "his decisions and conduct left many candidates wounded." For their sake, she said, "he needs to see the attacks he is now facing as the weight of the crown and bear them."

She added, "If he endures that way, many party members will feel the pain on his behalf."

Meanwhile, when asked to assess the Jung Chung-rae leadership over the past year or so, Ko gave it low marks, saying, "It felt frustrating — all slogans with no explanation, all flags with only dust."

She contrasted it with the Lee Jae Myung leadership era, when deliberations over a single slogan were visible to the public. That allowed rank-and-file lawmakers — not just the leadership — to follow what was being discussed and where opinion was divided, giving party members and the public time to form their own judgments. "Over the past year, there were not many moments like that," she said.