Kim Min-seok's 'centrist expansion' push deepens Democratic Party rift

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok and former leader Jung Chung-rae clashed head-on at a National Assembly members' workshop held just 10 days after the party's Aug. 17 leadership convention. With the Lee Jae Myung government's approval ratings hitting new lows day after day, the open sparring between the party's current and former leaders has left many within the party visibly unsettled.

Senior Democratic Party spokesperson Park Seong-jun told reporters Friday after a supreme council meeting at Inspire Hotel in Incheon's Yeongjong-gu that there had been "no internal disagreement" over Kim's keynote address. "There are intense discussions internally, but lawmakers said they all agree on the party's common direction," Park said.

In his keynote address Thursday, Kim singled out Jung by name, calling him "a leading proponent of the view that the center does not exist," and said, "In contrast, I — and I believe the president thinks similarly — hold the view that we need to expand our traditional base toward the center-right." Kim mentioned Jung by name eight times during the address, which was meant to lay out the party's future course.

Kim also cited a conversation he said he had with Jung that day, saying the two had reached a tentative conclusion that their differences over the center and structural majority were too fundamental to reconcile. "We each concluded that it is difficult to find a middle ground because these are differences in judgment about where we are headed," he said.

Jung pushed back immediately after the address. "I express regret that he used my full name as a tool to build his own argument," Jung said, and took to Facebook to elaborate. "There is nothing to be gained by grabbing the microphone and humiliating a rival from the most recent leadership race in this one-sided manner," he wrote. "If you claim your argument is correct by saying even the president thinks like you — and that your immediate rival was wrong and compromise is impossible — does that make Kim's position the supreme and absolute truth?"

A reconciliatory mood had emerged after the convention, with party leadership candidates gathering for a dinner at Cheong Wa Dae, but the renewed friction between the two figures left lawmakers visibly uncomfortable.

A multi-term lawmaker said the party's direction "is something worth debating" and acknowledged that "Jung had reason to feel offended." A first-term lawmaker from the greater Seoul area also questioned why Kim had brought up the former leader at all. "He could have made the point calmly without naming him," the lawmaker said. "Why are we having a season two of the leadership convention?"

Kim Han-gyu, the floor policy deputy leader, said on SBS Radio on Friday that he found Kim's "manner of expression somewhat regrettable." He went on to say that Jung could have raised his concerns directly rather than posting them publicly on social media, adding: "With President Lee's approval ratings and the party's support numbers in no position to be taken lightly, I would hope that the party's leading politicians resolve issues like this below the surface, for the sake of the party."