Song Young-gil questions Jung Chung-rae's bid for second term as party leader

Song Young-gil, a candidate in the Democratic Party of Korea's Aug. 17 leadership election, took aim Monday at rival Jung Chung-rae's bid for a second consecutive term as party leader, saying "every moment calls for a different kind of leadership, and this is not the time for Jung Chung-rae's leadership." Song added: "Why does he want to stay on? His relationship with the president is not good."

Song made the remarks during an appearance on the YouTube program "Kim Eou-joon's Humility Is Hard News Factory." He said he had met President Lee in person and that the state of party-presidential relations was so troubling it was keeping him up at night.

Song also said that someone close to Jung had given an interview claiming to have been offered a Cabinet post by the government — specifically the position of interior minister. "If you truly care about President Lee and want to help the government, you have to love in a way the other person welcomes," Song said. "If you love unilaterally, you become a stalker."

Asked whether the so-called "Myeong-Cheong rivalry" — a perceived factional clash between the two camps — was real, Song said it was "something that objectively appears that way, regardless of our intentions."

He went on to say that People Power Party supporters — including Jang Dong-hyeok, Kwon Young-se and Ahn Cheol-soo — were all backing Jung, suggesting Jung had become a target of cross-party tactical voting. "I believe there are people who want a lame-duck situation to arrive quickly so the Lee Jae Myung administration collapses," Song said. "Among PPP supporters, Jung is polling at 40.7%, Kim Mi-seok at 10.6%, and I am at 7.4% — the lowest of any candidate among PPP voters."

On the results of the Incheon regional primary announced Saturday, Song said he was "deeply disappointed, but must press on without wavering." Song previously served five terms as a lawmaker from Incheon's Gyeyang-gu and also served as mayor of Incheon.

Noting that he is the only candidate from the Honam region, Song said it was a contradiction that people who invoke the region's historical marginalization were themselves sidelining a Honam candidate. "Let's overcome the idea that Honam can't win or is destined to lose, and build an era under Lee Jae Myung where regional barriers fall and people vote on real ability and substance," he said.

On the question of merging with the Rebuilding Korea Party, Song said he planned to spend his first year as party leader focused on outreach to voters in their 20s and 30s, and that pursuing a merger during that period would split both parties. Citing a proposal to lower the threshold for forming a negotiating bloc in the National Assembly to 10 seats, Song said he had told Rebuilding Korea Party leader Shin Jang-sik: "Let's each work to strengthen ourselves for a year. Properly carve out the progressive space. Coordinate on individual issues, and when the general election comes, we can discuss a merger then."