Kim Min-seok declares bid for Democratic Party leadership, blasts 'self-serving politics'

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok formally declared his candidacy for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea on Monday, saying he was driven by "an unlimited sense of responsibility for the success of the Lee Jae Myung government."

Kim made the announcement at Gwangju's Jeonil Building 245 that morning, saying his life since his 20s had been "a continuous series of intense deliberation and breakthroughs." Before the declaration, he visited the National May 18th Democratic Cemetery and wrote in the guest book: "May 18 is no longer just history — it is the future."

"The Lee Jae Myung government must succeed," Kim said. "Only then can the country survive, the people survive, the youth survive, the future survive — and both the ruling and opposition sides survive." He said the top priority for ensuring that success was reforming the Democratic Party as the party in power.

He then said the party had "failed over the past year to translate public support for the president and the government into party support and election results," adding that "the harm caused by self-serving politics has thrown the party and government-party cooperation into disarray."

"As things stand, governing success, a general election victory and party unity are all out of reach," Kim said. He pointed to a lack of deliberation, debate, procedural rigor and consistency in areas including merger talks, discussions on prosecutorial reform, and candidate nomination and election strategy. The remarks were widely seen as a veiled attack on former party leader Jung Chung-rae.

Kim went on to say the party needed to work through its problems "one by one, step by step," insisting that "the history and values of the Democratic Party are one." He said Lee Jae Myung, who aspires to be a president for all, stands on the same foundation as Kim Dae-jung and the Democratic Party's identity — that loyalty to the party must never come before loyalty to the nation.

"I am a believer in a broad democratic alliance, in member sovereignty, in prosecutorial reform and in deliberative democracy," Kim said. He pledged to pursue sweeping integration across different parties, factions and individuals — unifying where there is common ground, building solidarity where there are differences, and expanding constantly. He also vowed to "open a new era of genuine, stronger member sovereignty through more information, more debate, more authority and more responsibility."

Meanwhile, former party leader Jung visited the hometown of late President Kim Dae-jung on Friday and that of late President Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday in back-to-back trips aimed at rallying the party's traditional base. Former party leader Song Young-gil is expected to declare his candidacy as early as this week and is anticipated to emphasize his claim as the rightful standard-bearer from the Honam region.