Kim Min-seok "Even if the opposition secretary-general told me to, I wouldn't have done it"

Regarding the moderate party position reshuffle carried out by the Democratic Party of Korea, excluding the Secretary-General who is considered the core of candidate selection, newly appointed Policy Committee Chair Kim Min-seok stated, "If someone had told me to take on the Secretary-General role, I would have absolutely refused," indicating that it is not easy to find an alternative to Secretary-General Cho Jeong-sik.

On the 28th, Kim said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Besides the practical work commonly associated with candidate selection, there are many other tasks, so it probably wasn't easy to find someone with experience who could fairly satisfy various opinions while setting aside their own election," explaining the difficulty in finding a suitable candidate.

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@

Kim, who was part of the Jeong Se-gyun campaign in the last presidential election, is regarded as having a weak factional affiliation. This party position reshuffle has been praised for pursuing balance rather than factionalism, but criticism has also arisen because Secretary-General Cho, who has significant influence over candidate selection, remained in place.

However, Kim explained that the Secretary-General is not the only one involved in candidate selection. He said, "In fact, the Secretary-General alone is not involved in candidate selection; the Strategy Committee Chair and others are also involved, so it is somewhat inaccurate to say that the Secretary-General controls everything," adding, "The Democratic Party’s general election rules are well systematized and have a long history, so it is not the case that one Secretary-General can control everything."

He also emphasized that Secretary-General Cho is unlikely to exert undue influence on candidate selection. Kim said, "Secretary-General Cho is a rare type of person who does not push things excessively, regardless of whether he is pro- or anti-Myeong," and added, "Under the current system of candidate selection, it is not the style to intentionally interfere excessively on an individual basis."

He evaluated the recent party position reshuffle as a result of pursuing balance. Kim stated, "There can be no one who is '100% satisfied' and no one who says it is a 'complete failure,' so the majority of evaluations are roughly that it aimed to be more integrative and balanced," concluding the general consensus.