Song Gap-seok appointed as Supreme Council Member,
Kim Min-seok as Policy Committee Chair,
Kwon Chil-seung as Chief Spokesperson appointed
On the 27th, the Democratic Party of Korea newly appointed nominated Supreme Council members and the chairperson of the Policy Committee. Lee Jae-myung, the party leader of the Democratic Party who had faced demands for reform such as party position reshuffles, appeared to appoint a large number of pro-Moon Jae-in faction figures. However, the highly anticipated Secretary-General position was retained by the current lawmaker, Jo Jung-sik.
Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party spokesperson, explained in a briefing after the Supreme Council meeting on the same day, "The Democratic Party has carried out a reshuffle of party positions today," adding, "This reshuffle considered integration, balance, and stability."
According to this reshuffle, Song Gap-seok, a lawmaker nominated by the party leader, was appointed as a nominated Supreme Council member. Kim Min-seok was appointed as the chairperson of the Policy Committee, and Kim Seong-ju was appointed as the senior deputy chairperson of the Policy Committee.
Park Sang-hyuk was appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General for Digital Strategy, also known as the Third Deputy Secretary-General, and Han Byung-do was appointed as the chairperson of the Strategic Planning Committee.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Kwon Chil-seung was appointed as the chief spokesperson, and Kang Seon-woo was appointed as a spokesperson. Among the existing spokesperson team, only Park Seong-jun and Han Min-su were retained.
Regarding this reshuffle, Spokesperson Park said, "There were voices within the party calling for a reshuffle," and explained, "Naturally, the emphasis was on integration on a large scale, and balance by widely appointing capable individuals, as well as stability, were considered."
After many lawmakers either supported, abstained, or invalidated the motion to arrest party leader Lee, there was controversy surrounding the party's leadership system. For now, the Democratic Party has settled on managing the situation through a reshuffle of party positions, and this appointment carries the character of such a remedial measure.
Considering the earlier appointment of lawmaker Jeong Tae-ho as head of the Democratic Research Institute, it appears that Lee has favored personnel from the Moon Jae-in administration through a series of appointments. Kim Seong-ju, the senior deputy chairperson of the Policy Committee, served as the chairman of the National Pension Service during the Moon administration, and Park Sang-hyuk, the Deputy Secretary-General, was an administrative officer at the Presidential Office. Han Byung-do, chairperson of the Strategic Planning Committee, was the senior secretary for political affairs at the Presidential Office, and Kwon Chil-seung, the chief spokesperson, previously served as the Minister of SMEs and Startups under the Moon administration.
Song Gap-seok, a Supreme Council member nominee from Honam and considered a voice of the non-Lee faction, drew attention. On the 11th, regarding the incident at the 'National Rally to Nullify the Humiliating Solution to Forced Mobilization' where individuals presumed to be strong supporters of the Democratic Party verbally abused and jeered Lee Jeong-mi, leader of the Justice Party, Song apologized, stating, "As one of the Democratic Party lawmakers, I apologize to the Justice Party and Leader Lee Jeong-mi." He had previously run as a Supreme Council candidate in the last party convention but did not make it into the winning circle.
Kim Min-seok, the chairperson of the Policy Committee, was known for supporting candidate Chung Sye-kyun during the last presidential primary and is regarded as having a faint factional color.
However, Jo Jung-sik was retained as Secretary-General, who manages the party’s affairs and oversees practical matters such as candidate nominations. Non-Lee faction lawmakers who had been demanding a reshuffle of party positions had also called for changes to the Secretary-General position. Regarding this, Spokesperson Park explained, "The Secretary-General plays the role of a balancing weight within the party, and Jo lawmaker has a good reputation," adding, "As a five-term lawmaker, he is widely regarded as the right person to pursue stability and achieve party harmony." Meanwhile, with this reshuffle, all lawmakers from Lee’s close group, the '7-in Club'?Kim Byung-wook, Moon Jin-seok, and Kim Nam-guk?were replaced.
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