'Original Pro-China' Kim Young-jin's Bitter Criticism... "Lee Jae-myung, If You Only Respond Improvisationally, the System Will Collapse"

Warning on Party Charter and Rules Amendment Discussion
Speaker and Floor Leaders Criticize Party Member Election Proposal
Opposition to Amendments on Party Leadership and Presidential Candidacy Regulations

Kim Young-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who was known as an original pro-Moon Jae-in faction member, voiced criticism regarding the controversial amendments to the party constitution and regulations. After Rep. Chu Mi-ae was eliminated in the party’s internal Speaker election, the decision to reflect the opinions of party members in the Speaker and floor leader elections was warned by Kim as a move that "could collapse the system."

In an interview with CBS Radio on the 11th, Rep. Kim said, "If the party constitution and regulations are continuously changed on an ad hoc basis to suit tastes after decisions have been made, the entire system itself will collapse." He criticized the recent moves by DPK leader Lee Jae-myung and the party leadership to amend the party constitution and regulations focusing on strengthening party membership rights, saying, "If you keep eating only sugar, your teeth will rot."

In May, after Rep. Woo Won-shik (current Speaker) won against Speaker-elect Chu Mi-ae (current member) in the party’s internal Speaker election, and following the resignation of party members, the DPK pushed for amendments to the party constitution and regulations to reflect the will of party members in the Speaker and floor leader elections, which was passed at the Supreme Council meeting the day before.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

While agreeing with the direction of a "party member-centered mass party," he viewed the reflection of party members’ will in the Speaker and floor leader elections as wrong. Rep. Kim explained, "Members of the National Assembly are elected as candidates of the Democratic Party, but they are not elected by Democratic Party members; they are elected by the people." Regarding the Speaker, he pointed out, "This is an issue stipulated in the Constitution and the National Assembly Act, and holding a party member vote could violate the purpose of the law." About the floor leader, he said, "The intention was to separate the powers of the party leader and the floor leader so that the floor leader would have an independent status and properly conduct negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties in the National Assembly," adding, "This could be deviated from." He warned that the Speaker and floor leader could face situations where they are swayed by some hardline party members.

He also expressed skepticism about whether the public opinion, which is packaged as the will of party members, truly reflects the genuine will of the party members. Rep. Kim said, "Regarding the internal Speaker election, no party member ever said that a specific member should be the Speaker," and criticized, "That was a flow created by certain Supreme Council members and a few large YouTubers, which was accepted and adapted as if it were the opinion of party members."

He also opposed the amendment that requires a presidential candidate to resign from the party leadership one year in advance. He said, "The party constitution and regulations are also products of historical internal party discussions and conflict resolution," and pointed out, "This regulation has never been changed for over a decade to realize the fundamental values and spirit of the Democratic Party, which is to provide equal opportunities to everyone for a fair presidential election." He criticized, "Why are they escalating conflicts?" and said, "They are doing unnecessary things."