Democratic Party supreme council hopefuls make final push in greater Seoul area

The eight candidates vying for seats on the Democratic Party of Korea's next supreme council — Choi Min-hee, Kim Yong, Kim Young-ho, Seo Mi-hwa, Han Min-su, Lee Sung-yoon, Park Seon-won and Lim Mi-ae, listed in ballot order — made their final appeals to voters Sunday at a joint campaign speech event in Gyeonggi Province. All stressed the importance of the Lee Jae Myung administration's success and victory in the next general election, even as competition to distinguish themselves grew fierce.

Candidate Choi Min-hee said media reform was essential to winning the general election. "We need to reform the Press Arbitration Act to stop biased and distorted reporting, overhaul portal sites to block comment manipulation, and reform the more than 1.4 trillion won ($989 million) in government advertising," she said.

Kim Yong called for an immediate overhaul of the party. "We must tear down the old Yeouido way of doing things. We must innovate. We must start completely fresh," he said.

Kim Young-ho said the party convention had left one critical topic unaddressed. "That topic is youth," he said. "The party must step up so that young people can directly shape the decisions that affect their generation."

Seo Mi-hwa called for the party, government and presidential office to operate as a seamless team across legislation, budgeting and policy. "Let us hold more firmly to the progressive values of human rights, diversity, equality and welfare, while building a bigger Democratic Party that embraces the center and the conservative," she said.

Han Min-su warned against internal division and stressed unity. "The history of our Democratic Party is one of victory when united and defeat when divided," he said. "Once this convention is over, we must band together and work for the success of the Lee Jae Myung administration."

Lee Sung-yoon said abolishing the prosecution service alone would not be enough. "It takes someone who knows the prosecution inside and out — Lee Sung-yoon, the only former prosecutor among the supreme council candidates — to work alongside party leader Jung Chung-rae and see prosecutorial and judicial reform through to completion," he said.

Park Seon-won described the convention as an opportunity to build an entirely new leadership equipped with a sense of responsibility, capability and agility befitting a ruling party. "Right here in Gyeonggi Province, where South Korea is changing fastest, everything President Lee Jae Myung speaks of — the leap forward, the speed, the results, a world-class Korea, an irreplaceable Korea — all of it begins," he said.

Lim Mi-ae said the convention had not devoted enough discussion to the lives of ordinary citizens. "Reform is not something done in words alone," she said. "Let us build a Lee Jae Myung administration that wins through reform the people can feel."