Minjoo Party Leader Kim Min-seok Appoints Cho Gye-won as Spokesperson… Reveals Background and Expectations Amidst Intra-Party Conflict

Spokesperson Cho Gye-won revealed that Leader Kim Min-seok personally offered him the spokesperson position at the 5.18 memorial service. Leader Kim offered the position after observing Representative Cho Gye-won's activities during the national convention process, and Spokesperson Cho immediately accepted.

Afterward, through a Supreme Council meeting, Senior Spokesperson Park Seong-jun officially announced Spokesperson Cho Gye-won's appointment.

Representative Cho Gye-won stated that immediately before the last local elections, Governor Lee Jae-myung's approval rating reached 70%, and optimism was dominant, but the results ended in a devastating failure. He revealed that he felt the need to criticize the reality of distorting the election results as a 'big victory' or 'numerical victory' for the sake of party leader re-election, in a situation where even victory in the general election and the re-creation of power could not be guaranteed.

Spokesperson Cho said, "Unfortunately, the results ended in a devastating failure. Moreover, it ended in such a terrible failure that even victory in the general election and the re-creation of power can no longer be guaranteed, but when evaluating this, I saw it being called a big victory, a numerical victory, and I thought this isn't right."

He explained that he has been vocal within the Democratic Party with the conviction that he must speak frankly for the party's sake.

This background appears to have been one of the important factors in his appointment as spokesperson.

Reporter Heo Jae-hyun criticized the former Secretary-General for focusing only on acting as a spokesperson for a specific individual, pointing out that this confused it with the Secretary-General's original role. In contrast, Spokesperson Cho Gye-won emphasized that the Secretary-General, as an appointed official, should only exercise the powers granted and be faithful to their own role.

These differing views show the various interpretations within the Democratic Party regarding the scope of the Secretary-General's role and their political status within the party.

Pro-Cheonggae lawmakers criticized the appointment of Supreme Council members as a breach of promise and an autocratic decision made without consultation. In particular, there was significant dissatisfaction that the demand for a democratic election method for youth Supreme Council members was not accepted.

In response, Spokesperson Cho Gye-won explained that the Secretary-General's technical review confirmed procedural impossibility under the current party rules and regulations. He remarked, "Despite the good cause of having youth Supreme Council members, the idea that they must be elected democratically—isn't that essentially an intention to once again engage in fierce factional struggles like in the last national convention and try to overcome numerical disadvantages?" He thus warned against intra-party factionalism.

Spokesperson Cho explained that it was inevitably necessary to appoint members to resolve issues such as overlapping structures.

Reporter Heo Jae-hyun evaluated the elected method for youth Supreme Council members as desirable and in line with the times. However, Spokesperson Cho Gye-won pointed out that realistic issues related to the process of amending party rules and conducting elections must be considered.

He emphasized that this issue should have been discussed at the stage of the national convention preparatory committee.

While the introduction of an election system has the positive aspect of strengthening intra-party democracy, the party believes continuous discussion is needed regarding procedural legitimacy and practical feasibility.

The method of electing youth Supreme Council members is directly related to strengthening party members' participation and representation, and it is one of the core issues of intra-party conflict.

Spokesperson Cho Gye-won evaluated Leader Kim Min-seok's appointments as 'merit-based,' specifically mentioning Supreme Council member Jeon Yong-gi as a rational and meticulous politician. He said, "I think Leader Kim Min-seok's appointments were merit-based, and I look forward to more new appointments being announced."

He expressed anticipation for future additional appointments, predicting that the Kim Min-seok system would lead to changes in the party.

The five-hour dinner between the President and the Democratic Party leadership after the national convention was evaluated as a place of harmony. Spokesperson Cho Gye-won commented, "I think the government also viewed the national convention as a very important turning point for having a place of harmony," analyzing that the government also recognized the national convention as a significant turning point.

This dinner emphasized that the party, government, and Blue House are a community of shared destiny, and it was considered an important turning point for resolving past political conflicts.

Through this, expectations for strengthening cooperation between the government and the ruling party are growing.

The 'ability to work' was emphasized as a core quality for politicians. Reporter Heo Jae-hyun mentioned the case of former Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, stating that supporters respond positively to politicians who work well.

He emphasized, "If you just work well, opportunities will come again. Working well seems to be the top priority," and suggested that if there are no political achievements, politicians will be judged like former Representative Jeong Cheong-rae.

This shows a growing recognition that politicians should be evaluated by tangible results rather than slogans or image-based politics.

Governor Lee Jae-myung introduced a groundbreaking performance-based system to allow public officials to concentrate on their work. Spokesperson Cho Gye-won explained, "The governor himself approves the policy. He says, 'I will take on all legal responsibilities, so you public officials, just work.'"

This was intended to encourage public officials to focus on their work without burden, as the governor approved a policy to assume legal responsibility.

It demonstrated a strong will to guarantee promotions for public officials who achieve results and to improve the organizational culture by breaking down complacency.

Controversy arose in the Democratic Party's Supreme Council election as Supreme Council member Lee Seong-yoon, who was at the bottom in various opinion polls, exceptionally took first place only in the poll conducted by the Democratic Party, surpassing candidate Kim Yong to become a Supreme Council member. Reporter Heo Jae-hyun raised suspicions, saying, "Supreme Council member Lee Seong-yoon was at the bottom in all various opinion polls, but this time he came in first only in the poll conducted by the Democratic Party, surpassing candidate Kim Yong and becoming a Supreme Council member, didn't he?"

This suggests the possibility of organized intervention, raising doubts about the reliability of the poll results.

Additionally, it was pointed out that the limitations of the reverse-selection prevention clause fueled this controversy further.

Such controversy raises concerns that it could increase distrust among party members regarding the transparency and fairness of the internal election process.

The Democratic Party is promoting a Democratic Party TV morning broadcast to unify the platform for party policy promotion. Spokesperson Cho Gye-won stated, "We need to prevent a situation where normal information is twisted and distorted into fake news and spread by certain YouTubers' political intentions, leading to incorrect decision-making." He expressed the party's determination to block fake news and directly control information.

This is interpreted as a countermeasure against the problem of the relationship between YouTubers and politicians being reversed.

It is a strategy for the party to strengthen official information channels, provide accurate information to party members and supporters, and protect the party from distorted external information.

The morning broadcast is expected to be an important means of increasing accessibility for party members and effectively delivering the party's message.

Controversy arose that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae ignored procedures by 'passing' the President, who is the appointing authority. Spokesperson Cho Gye-won criticized, "Communicating and consulting with the appointing authority is fundamentally the spirit of the constitution, and the constitution is designed that way. But now, by passing the Blue House, passing the President, he ignored the procedures, and that is, as a result, an act of ignoring the National Assembly."

This is an act that violates the principle of separation of powers and the spirit of the constitution, and it is pointed out that it even disregards the National Assembly.

This controversy is becoming a major basis for the demand for Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's resignation.

Spokesperson Cho Gye-won strongly criticized Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae for 'staging a judicial coup' by even denying the Supreme Court's own internal regulations to disqualify presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. He asserted, "Cho Hee-dae is the very person who staged such a judicial coup, attempting to disqualify President Lee Jae-myung's candidacy by overturning a case that was acquitted in an appellate trial in just nine days, even denying the Supreme Court's own internal regulations to make it a guilty verdict."

In particular, he took issue with overturning the appellate court's verdict in just nine days and conducting a hasty trial through online deliberation.

This appears to be an artificial intervention by the Supreme Court in factual findings, fueling controversy over the undermining of judicial independence.

Spokesperson Cho Gye-won criticized People Power Party Leader Jang Dong-hyuk for misusing the constitutional logic of suspending criminal prosecution against the president to demand an early start to trials, calling it the 'instrumentalization of judicial politics.' He said, "What is Leader Jang Dong-hyuk doing? He is drawing a comparison. Constitutionally, criminal prosecution against the president by the Supreme Court must be suspended. He brings that up and then instructs the judiciary to immediately start the trial."

This is criticized as an act of exploiting constitutional principles for political purposes.

Chairman Ko Nam-seok revealed that Reporter Heo Jae-hyun's coverage had a surprisingly significant impact on party members' political judgment. He mentioned, "Honestly, I didn't know my influence, how much party members would refer to the information covered by a reporter named Heo Jae-hyun," suggesting that party members had a great thirst for information.

This implies that party members' reference to information played a large role in Chairman Ko Nam-seok's election.

It is evaluated as an example that reaffirms the role and influence of political reporting.

Chairman Ko Nam-seok's election was evaluated as a 'miracle of a party-centered party' where an ordinary party member outside the assembly became a city party chairman. He mentioned, "I don't think even the President expected me to be elected. Such miracles don't happen often, so even though he designed a party-centered vote, I think he wondered if such a miracle would really happen right at the beginning." He stated that Leader Lee Jae-myung must have realized the power of party-centered voting.

This election result is an example where the difference in voting sentiment between delegates and dues-paying members was clearly apparent, and it is evaluated as a symbolic event that proved the value of a party-centered party.

This is expected to be an important milestone that presents the direction the Democratic Party should take.

Structural flaws and the need for improvement in the national convention opinion poll method were raised. Chairman Ko Nam-seok pointed out that a contradiction arose where delegate sentiment and opinion poll results conflicted. He said, "First of all, regarding those opinion poll parts, we need to calmly evaluate the issue of reverse selection. In some cases, people waited and then changed their age to respond. In the past, when opinion polls were conducted in certain party member regions, the issue of who mobilized more people to wait could significantly influence the results within the allowable institutional scope." He criticized the possibility of reverse selection, such as age manipulation, existing within institutionally permissible limits.

This raises concerns that party members' voting value (equality of votes) could be diluted due to the weight of opinion polls.

Voices are growing that securing transparency and fairness in opinion poll methods is urgent for strengthening intra-party democracy.

Doubts are growing about the opinion poll results as candidate Lee Seong-yoon's first-place finish in the Supreme Council election contradicted previous trends. Reporter Heo Jae-hyun reported that the head of the opinion poll company mentioned the presence of external forces that penetrated the reverse-selection prevention clause and participated in the survey.

He said, "They said it seemed like external forces penetrated the reverse-selection prevention clause for the opinion poll and participated in the survey," raising suspicions that organized intervention by specific external forces, such as the People Power Party, the Rebuilding Korea Party, and Shincheonji, was detected.

This is a serious issue that could severely undermine the fairness of the election, and calls for a thorough investigation are growing.

Measures to reinforce the party's internal election system and block external intervention seem urgent.

The case of Shincheonji's alleged involvement in former candidate Lee Nak-yeon's primary, which was omitted, was mentioned, calling for a thorough investigation into election fraud. Reporter Heo Jae-hyun emphasized, "In the future, Shincheonji or any other forces that try to meddle in elections must be completely blocked from even approaching the Democratic Party, right?" He asserted that external forces interfering in future Democratic Party elections must be fundamentally prevented.

This statement emphasizes the need for a thorough investigation into forces that interfere with elections, and that ensuring transparency in the party's internal election system is a prerequisite for party harmony.

Voices are growing for the establishment of a transparent election culture for the future of the Democratic Party, avoiding a repetition of past problems.

Spokesperson Cho Gye-won proposed the introduction of a permanent party-member-centered political evaluation system. He said, "Don't go back to a watching stance just because the election is over; I think all party members should continuously evaluate how well politicians are doing and how they should do well, including policy evaluations, through various forms like all-member votes. The goal is to create a structure where those who performed well can run in the general election." He asserted that party members should continuously evaluate politicians' activities through various evaluation methods, including all-member votes.

This aims to guarantee party member participation in the next general election nomination process and create a structure where highly performing individuals can be nominated.

It is interpreted as a proposal to foster a party culture where politicians listen to party members' voices and grow through their evaluations.

The Incheon City Party showed a successful example of expanding the recruitment of youth and expert talents by lowering the entry barrier for proportional representation nominations in local elections. Spokesperson Cho Gye-won explained, "They greatly lowered the barrier this time, so many skilled experts who were with us in the 'Light Revolution' were elected proportionally. In that regard, compared to other chairpersons, our Chairman Ko Nam-seok truly worked with those who were part of the 'Light Revolution' and achieved many results so they could continue to work for the citizens and the party." He praised the easing of deposit burdens, which expanded opportunities for skilled individuals to participate in politics.

This exemplifies the Incheon City Party's tradition of investing in talent discovery by utilizing financial resources.

Such efforts are expected to play a significant role in strengthening grassroots democracy and laying the foundation for diverse talents to contribute to local politics.

Spokesperson Cho Gye-won emphasized that party reform must begin with the city and provincial parties that can make grassroots local autonomy successful. He said, "Party reform must begin with the city and provincial parties that can make such grassroots local autonomy successful. And I hope such support will be provided. Reshaping from a central party-centered structure to a local party-centered structure." He proposed a shift from a central party-centered structure to a local party-centered structure.

To this end, he emphasized establishing policy and education units for the success of local autonomy and daily activities to raise party members' political awareness.

The core is to strengthen the capabilities of local parties and encourage voluntary participation of party members, thereby increasing the overall competitiveness of the Democratic Party and realizing grassroots democracy.

This was presented as a long-term vision for fundamental improvement of the party's constitution.

Reporter Heo Jae-hyun officially announced that 'Politics Police Station Season 1' would be temporarily ending due to financial difficulties in broadcast operations. He stated, "First, we are concluding Season 1, and we will set up the broadcast system again when we have more financial resources, after we've saved some money. Today's broadcast will be the last for Politics Police Station Season 1."

Reporter Heo indicated that he would return as soon as possible, observing the future political situation.

He also added that internal monitoring activities for Leader Lee Jae-myung's success would continue, implying that even if the broadcast stops, the voices of monitoring and criticism would not cease.