Kim Min-seok, elected Monday as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Korea at the party's Aug. 17 national convention, is expected to throw his weight behind the Lee Jae Myung government's key policy agenda, including its three major mega projects.
Kim named the success of the three mega projects and regional growth as the party's top priority, announcing plans to establish a special "mega regional growth committee" within the party to provide legislative support and accelerate their implementation.
"The three mega projects are a 'Honam-Korea mega project' that moves semiconductors — which had been stalled in the greater Seoul area — to Honam, starting there and extending to the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions to make all of South Korea a semiconductor powerhouse," Kim said Saturday. "I will stake everything on making it succeed."
Kim is also expected to push forward on other key initiatives, including the Saemangeum development project — where Hyundai Motor Company has committed to invest 9 trillion won ($6.36 billion) — the relocation of public financial institutions, and efforts to attract overseas AI companies to South Korea.
"I will pursue the inclusion of North Jeolla Province in the second and third phases of the mega projects and will independently develop a mega plan for the province," Kim said Saturday in North Jeolla Province.
He also pledged to address regional disparities by developing northern Seoul, northern Gyeonggi Province, Incheon and Gangwon Province's border areas, and to support the Gangneung World ITS Congress.
Kim also laid out concrete steps to win back support among younger voters.
He plans to open a so-called "second Gwanghwamun party office" in Seoul as a youth-led discussion and cultural space. He also promised to designate one of the party's two appointed supreme council seats for a young person, and to amend the party constitution to reserve one elected supreme council seat for youth as well.
Alongside this, Kim said he would establish a youth committee as a standing committee in the National Assembly and create a "1030 policy unit" to support young people and university students.
Kim said he would treat the results of potential by-elections as a vote of confidence in his leadership — including a possible Seoul mayoral by-election depending on the outcome of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's political funds law trial, and a Gangneung by-election triggered by former lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong's loss of his seat.
On the process of selecting a Seoul mayoral candidate, Kim added that the party would establish a Seoul policy unit at the central party office and hold "policy battles" between the central party and the Seoul chapter, using competition among candidates to develop the party's Seoul policy platform.
On real estate — an issue with significant sway over public sentiment in the greater Seoul area — Kim said the party would form a task force tentatively named the "real estate supply drive and institutional reform TF." He also plans to pursue a "residential New Deal" policy to improve housing supply and address youth housing challenges.
Regarding the government's announced tax reform package, Kim said the party would work through consultations with the government to address issues such as the treatment of non-resident single homeowners.
To heal internal divisions that surfaced during the convention, Kim pledged to pursue unity and expansion through what he called "mega reconciliation," resolve issues such as dual party membership, and hold dialogue with the Rebuilding Korea Party on integration and solidarity.
"Kim Min-seok will be a 'game maker,'" he said Sunday. "I will build a grand stage of unity, solidarity, recruitment and expansion — a structurally dominant stage — and carry the party through the general election and the presidential election."
Among his other campaign pledges, Kim outlined plans to launch a grand unification body for solidarity and expansion, establish a candidate nomination reform body, set up an organization tentatively named the "dignified basic society and polarization resolution body," hold youth culture festivals honoring Kim Gwang-seok in Daegu and Kim Min-gi in Iksan, provide full party support for the 2027 World Youth Festival, and broadcast party business reports live.
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