On the 7th, President Lee Jae-myung took a commemorative photo with lawmakers Kim Byung-ki (left) and Seo Young-kyo, who declared their candidacy for the next Democratic Party floor leader election, during a dinner at the official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul. This election is the first for the Democratic Party since President Lee took office. On June 9, candidates Kim Byung-ki (running as number 1, third-term) and Seo Young-kyo (running as number 2, fourth-term) previewed a tough stance against the opposition party. The Democratic Party will hold the new floor leader election on the 13th.
Rep. Kim, a former National Intelligence Service agent, wrote on Facebook in the morning, “Use the final weapon, Kim Byung-ki, to clear the obstacles in President Lee Jae-myung’s path and uncompromisingly complete the end of the rebellion.” He stressed, “Upon winning, I will immediately form a special investigation committee on anti-constitutional matters to thoroughly reveal the entirety of Yoon Seok-yeol’s rebellion.” The Democratic Party had passed a special prosecutor’s bill on rebellion at the first plenary session (on the 5th) since becoming the ruling party, and intends to form a special committee on rebellion within the National Assembly.
Rep. Seo, who was a top committee member during President Lee Jae-myung’s first term as party leader, advocated for the ‘National Disaster Relief Fund’. On June 9, she said on MBC Radio, “The nationwide disaster relief fund saved livelihoods during COVID,” emphasizing the urgency of passing it. The Democratic Party has been pushing for nationwide disaster relief payments (25,000 won per person in local currency) after the martial law but the People Power Party opposed it, calling it “typical populism.” It was excluded from the first supplementary budget agreement of 13.8 trillion won last month, but it is intended to be included in the second supplementary budget announced by President Lee. Seo emphasized the need for rapid execution of the ‘three special investigations’ (concerning Kim Gun-hee, rebellion, and marines) that passed in the plenary session on the 5th.
The current tough atmosphere has been fueled by the party sentiment grabbing efforts ahead of the election. Traditionally, only lawmakers voted in the floor leader election, but beginning this election, the vote of party members with voting rights accounts for 20% (equating to about 34 votes). A Democratic Party senior member commented, “If no one is overwhelming, 34 votes are not insignificant,” and suggested that the candidates might be making louder statements to appeal to those votes.
The competition for ‘pro-Lee certification’ targeting party sentiment is also fierce. After being invited to the dinner with the president on the 7th, both lawmakers posted photos with President Lee on their respective Facebook pages. Rep. Kim even edited a photo where President Lee sat between the two candidates, cropping out Rep. Seo before posting it. A member from Seo’s office stated, “The photo wasn’t taken privately, how could it possibly have been edited like that?”
Rep. Seo responded by posting a ‘selfie’ taken with the president. She highlighted her connection by stating, “The president took selfies with me three times late at night.”
Within the party, some voices have said the new leadership should not focus solely on the wishes of hardline members. On June 9, Representative Lee Yeon-hee emphasized on Facebook that, “The new leadership must not be swayed by the voices of hardliners but should maintain a balanced approach and respond to the spirit of the times.” She added that, “Public sentiment has always been able to check and judge an arrogant ruling party intoxicated with power.”