Kim Min-seok hits the ground running as Jung Chung-rae plays it quiet

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has wasted no time since leaving office, launching an aggressive public schedule that is rapidly pushing the Democratic Party of Korea toward a party leadership convention.

Kim posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that "winning the general election and securing consecutive terms in power is the surest and most irreversible guarantee of prosecutorial reform," adding, "I will build a Democratic Party that wins — again."

His public schedule that day included a visit to Yukgeori Market in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, a meeting with a merchants' association, and a tour of SK hynix's Cheongju campus.

Kim completed his term as prime minister on June 30 and launched a regional tour just two days later — a move widely seen as the formal start of his campaign for the party leadership.

Kim has also taken repeated swipes at his main rival, former party leader Jung Chung-rae. In an interview with YouTube channel OhmyTV on Tuesday, Kim said, "The time has come for a leadership with a different color, capability, style and strengths from those of former leader Jung," adding that it was "hard to find any need or inevitability in doing things the same way as before just to serve as leader a second time."

Speaking on JTBC the same day, Kim said, "There will be another election — a general election — in two years," and stressed that "the experience of directly commanding and winning a general election, a presidential election and local elections is something almost uniquely mine."

Jung, by contrast, has avoided direct responses and instead continued to push the "Democratic Party legitimacy" framing he has consistently emphasized since stepping down as party leader.

On Facebook, Jung wrote in connection with Tuesday's meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and former President Moon Jae-in: "Kim Dae-jung passed the baton to Roh Moo-hyun, Roh passed it to Moon Jae-in, and Moon passed it to Lee Jae Myung, who is now running with it. I will honor the wishes of both men and do even better."

In terms of his schedule, Jung appears to be investing more energy in quietly cultivating support within the party than in high-profile public appearances.

Inside the party, the mood is being described as the calm before the storm. "Kim keeps throwing jabs at Jung, and former party leader Song Young-gil — who has long been needling Jung — is expected to join the fray as well," one Democratic Party official said. "The convention atmosphere could heat up faster than people expect."