Kim Young-sam's son says opposition minister nominee should have 'held on longer' to hasten ruling party's downfall

Kim Hyun-chul, the second son of former President Kim Young-sam and chairman of the Kim Young-sam Presidential Foundation, said Yong Hye-in's withdrawal as the nominee for minister of gender equality and family was a missed opportunity to hasten the Democratic Party of Korea government's downfall.

Kim made the remarks in a Facebook post Sunday, saying "What a waste" and adding that had Yong "held on a little longer, she could have contributed significantly to bringing down the Democratic Party administration."

Turning to Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, Kim said Cheong Wa Dae appeared determined to keep him on, urging the nominee to "hold firm without getting tired." He added that doing so would lead to the dropping of charges against President Lee Jae Myung and "mark the peak of this administration's ruin."

He also took aim at President Lee directly, saying Lee had "stripped citizens of their fundamental rights to life and property through chaos in real estate and public safety, clinging desperately to the dismissal of charges solely to save his own skin."

Kim also criticized People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, saying he was "out at Olympic Park pinning on flowers and beating drums — it's not some movie like 'Welcome to Dongmakgol,' it's a complete mess."

He went on to say that "now seems like the best time for a party revolution," arguing that "a party revolution must come first before an election revolution can be completed" and calling for a sweeping reform of the People Power Party.

Kim invoked the political upheaval of the Fifth Republic era — the dissolution of the government-controlled opposition Democratic Korea Party, the founding of the New Korea Democratic Party, demands for democratization, and the 1987 constitutional reform restoring direct presidential elections — to argue that the three-party merger had enabled an election revolution that ended military rule and brought about former President Kim Young-sam's civilian government, completing landmark reforms including the purge of the Hanahoe military faction, the real-name financial transaction system and the historical rectification drive. "Let us fulfill a party revolution, an election revolution and a people's revolution that embody the aspirations of the people," he said.

Yong had been nominated as minister of gender equality and family on Aug. 30 but stepped down Sunday — 14 days after her nomination — amid controversy over her simultaneously holding a proportional-representation Assembly seat and a cabinet post, as well as disputes over her party's management style.