Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, attends a rally to defend voting rights over the ballot shortage, holding a Taegeukgi at the Handball Stadium in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 15th, Liberation Day. Yonhap News1
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) congratulated Kim Min-seok on his election as the new leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) while urging him to work with the opposition.
In a statement on the 17th, PPP chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon called on the DP to “show itself as a responsible ruling party, not a strong one.” Park added, “Move away from the confrontational politics that cater to hardline supporters, respect the opposition as a partner in governing, and listen to the voice of the public over the wishes of the president.”
Park particularly stressed that the DP must not repeat the “legislative steamrolling” it carried out on the strength of its parliamentary majority in the first half of the 22nd National Assembly. “The DP repeated legislative steamrolling rather than cooperating with the opposition,” he said. “The National Assembly has been reduced to a rubber-stamp body that pushes through bills by force of numbers, rather than a forum for debate and consensus.”
Park also took issue with the controversy over Kim’s remarks and President Lee Jae-myung’s involvement during the party convention. “Through this convention, the one-man rule in which President Lee Jae-myung and the ruling party effectively move as a single body has become even more entrenched,” he said. “President Lee in particular invited criticism that he blatantly intervened in the DP convention by using even the semiconductor industry, a long-term national priority, as ‘political spoils’ for Kim Min-seok’s election.”
He continued, “By calling during the convention for the complete abolition of the prosecution’s supplementary investigation authority and by branding the resumption of President Lee Jae-myung’s trial as ‘violence’ and ‘barbarity,’ Kim Min-seok made claims that directly shake the constitutional values of judicial independence and the separation of powers.” He added, “In effect, he has cast himself as a ‘Lee Jae-myung avatar’ shielding the president’s legal risks, which raises serious concerns about whether the DP can truly serve as a ruling party for the people.”
Park also said, “The ruling party must never be reduced to a shield defending the president’s legal risks.” He stressed, “The party must keep in mind that its foremost duty is not to protect the president, but to protect the people, the Constitution and the nation’s future.”
“The PPP is the DP’s competitor, but also a partner that must help solve state affairs together,” Park said. “We will always extend a hand for cooperation on people’s livelihoods and the national interest, but we will firmly stand against anything that undermines democracy and the rule of law.”
Choi Eun-seok, chief floor spokesperson, also issued a statement, saying, “Now that a new leader has been elected, the DP must change too.” He added pointedly, “Above all, when the public’s livelihood is in such dire straits, the party should not be plotting a path to the president’s reelection first.”
He stressed, “I hope the launch of the new leadership will not be a fresh start for the DP alone, but a turning point for Korean politics to move away from confrontation and one-party dominance and return to dialogue and cooperation.”