'Who called him No. 3?' — Song Young-gil's kingmaker role in Kim Min-seok's party leader victory

The prevailing assessment is that Song Young-gil, who finished third in the Democratic Party of Korea's Aug. 17 leadership election, played a decisive role in Kim Min-seok's victory. After Kim failed to secure a majority in the first-round tally, the convention applied a preferential voting system introduced for the first time at this gathering — and what sealed the outcome was the second-preference votes cast by Song's supporters. In the runoff, which reallocates the second-choice votes of the lowest-placed candidate to determine the winner, a significant share of Song's votes flowed to Kim. Song also effectively led an anti-Jung Chung-rae front throughout the convention, acting as a pointed critic of his rival.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for Song's campaign, issued a post-convention assessment Tuesday, calling it a "rediscovery of Song Young-gil" and saying the race had come down to either Song becoming party leader or someone becoming party leader "by Song Young-gil."

"Song fought with everything he had to win, but the choice of party members and supporters was Kim Min-seok — who served as the inaugural prime minister of the Lee Jae Myung government," Kang said. "Song and his campaign send their warmest congratulations to the new party leader." He added: "Water doesn't boil at 99 degrees — it takes that one extra degree to reach 100. Song played the role of raising the temperature by that one degree needed to get Kim elected. We take pride in the fact that he was not simply third out of three, but the 'decider' who brought about a change in party leadership."

Media commentary has broadly concluded that the convention marked a rediscovery of Song, with many offering positive assessments of his role and expressing anticipation for his next political move. Broadcaster Oh Yun-hye said Aug. 13 that Song "played the biggest role at this convention." Commentator Kim Yong-min said Aug. 15 that Song had become a "national teto-nam" — someone who gained the most from the convention short of actually winning. Former lawmaker Park Won-seok, also speaking Aug. 15, said Song had added humor to his trademark bluntness and "hinted at something to come."

Kang said Song had entered the race "to bring about a change in party leadership, lead the next general election to victory, and protect the Lee Jae Myung government." He added: "Politics is done through words. Song left behind many memorable lines throughout the convention, imprinting his political presence and fulfilling his mission."

Song's trademark plain-spoken style also drew attention. At a joint speech event on Aug. 8, he took direct aim at Jung over the question of seeking another term, saying: "It's done. There's no need to come back out. No need for a second term. We'll take care of everything ourselves now. No need for it. If you boil bone broth three times, there's nothing left." He was also credited with being the first to raise the issue of impeaching Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae at the convention. On the same day, Song said: "What we need now is the impeachment of Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae — and Song Young-gil will do it," adding that prosecutorial reform was already finished and there was no point in rehashing it.

Song also staked out a firm position on a potential merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party. Kang called it "a message that required courage" but said it was "not a mere rallying cry — it was a strategic judgment." He explained that the core idea was to lower the threshold for a parliamentary negotiating bloc to 10 seats in order to broaden the progressive space. "In that scenario, Song believed there would be movement on the conservative side as well — Han Dong-hoon's faction would leave the party, and joining forces with Lee Jun-seok's party would give rise to a rational conservative bloc that would replace the Jang Dong-hyeok and Yoon-again forces," Kang said.

Song's remark — "Where do you think you're going to sell that? Are Gwangju citizens people who just sleep through everything?" — also drew notice. It was a pointed rebuke of campaign materials and slogans from Jung's side that read: "The awakened citizens of Yeongnam are coming — Gwangju, answer the call."

Throughout the convention, Song also worked to set the policy agenda and shape policy debate. He led with real estate policy and what he called "shut up and supply" — at his campaign launch press conference on July 8, he proposed supplying 50,000 housing units in Yongsan and declared that solving the real estate problem meant "shut up and supply." He also put forward a range of housing policy alternatives, including fiscal and financial support for end-users and minimizing the comprehensive real estate tax for single-home owner-occupiers.

At the same press conference, Song declared "no '2030' presidential election without the '2030' generation" and announced the "Jangbogo Project" — a plan to send 100,000 young Koreans abroad to create new opportunities — along with a youth housing stability package.

The highlight of the convention was the third televised debate on SBS. Song asked Jung to name the Lee Jae Myung government's top policy priority, and when Jung failed to answer correctly, Song pressed him into giving a wrong answer. Commentator Seo Yong-ju said Song had "knocked his opponent out with a single blow." Kang said it was "an essential question that exposed how diligently — or not — the ruling party leader had been working for the success of the Lee Jae Myung government, and laid bare the roots of the so-called conflict between Lee and Jung."

Kang acknowledged that policy debate beyond the exchange over the government's top priority "did not get much attention, which is a shame," but said Song had done his best as a six-term political heavyweight and former Incheon mayor to highlight a wide range of policy agendas — from people's livelihoods to peace on the Korean Peninsula to international diplomatic strategy — and to communicate his vision on each.

"A four-year absence is no short time for a politician," Kang said. "Song had to spend three years away from the Democratic Party fighting Yoon Suk Yeol's political prosecutors. Add the time he spent abroad after taking responsibility for the 2022 presidential election defeat, and it comes to nearly four years."