Ruling Party Leadership Contenders Step Up Activity as Tensions Continue Between Kim Minseok and Jeong Cheongrae

Song Younggil Continues to Criticize Jeong Day After Day

Kim Minseok, Prime Minister and a leading contender for the next ruling party leadership, along with former Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheongrae and Assemblyman Song Younggil, spent the weekend traveling nationwide to increase contact with party members. Meanwhile, tensions arose over the evaluation of the June 3 local elections and the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority. At the same time, controversy continues over author Yoo Si-min's remarks on the "reconstruction theory," which was a critique aimed at President Lee Jaemyung's efforts to expand the party's appeal to moderates.

At the Democratic Party Youth Elected Officials Workshop held in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province on the 28th, Prime Minister Kim remarked, "Unfortunately, there was a slight misstep in the results of this election." In response, former leader Jeong countered in his congratulatory speech, saying, "We nominated 3,192 candidates in the local elections and 2,294 were elected. That is a 72% success rate," adding, "We have become a democratic people's party."

(Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province = Yonhap News) Reporter Kiwon Hong = Kim Minseok, Prime Minister, and Jeong Cheongrae, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the Democratic Party Youth Elected Officials Workshop held at Gonjiam Resort in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province on the 28th, singing the national anthem. June 28, 2026. [Joint Coverage] xanadu@yna.co.kr (End)

The dispute between Prime Minister Kim and former leader Jeong also continued regarding the supplementary investigation authority. Prime Minister Kim claimed that he had requested the party address the matter in May, but former leader Jeong stated that he had never received such a request. Assemblyman Song has continued to criticize Jeong on a daily basis. On this day, during a KBS radio program, when asked whether Jeong was trying to emphasize the Democratic Party's legitimacy, Song claimed, "Former leader Jeong turned his back on former President Roh Moohyun so completely that he couldn't even attend the funeral." In response, Jeong wrote on social media, "The claim that 'I turned my back on Roh Moohyun and couldn't even attend the funeral' is 100% false information," demanding an apology.

Meanwhile, author Yoo Si-min's reconstruction theory has also become a subject of debate. Yoo appeared on the YouTube program "Kim Eo-jun's Dasboida" on June 26, using the analogy of "reconstruction" to criticize President Lee's approach to party unification and expansion, and pointed out, "What supporters truly wanted was an extension, not a reconstruction."

Policy chief Hong Ikpyo commented on SBS Radio that same day, saying, "While Yoo's remarks are very influential, it is difficult to respond to every single comment from one individual," but added, "It is ultimately up to the people to decide."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.