Policy Forums on National Agenda: Minseok Kim Takes the Lead, Jeong Cheongrae Responds with Counter Forum, Song Younggil Set to Announce Candidacy Soon

Kim Minseok Leads Agenda with Forum on Three Mega-Projects
Jeong Cheongrae Holds Counter Forum on Southwest Semiconductor Cluster on July 8
Song Younggil Proposes First Bipartisan Bill in the New Assembly

Former Prime Minister Minseok Kim and former representative Jeong Cheong-rae, both running for leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, have begun competing over policy issues by holding a series of policy forums. Former Prime Minister Kim took the lead by hosting a discussion on the three major mega-projects, which are core national policies under the Lee Jaemyung administration. This move is seen as an attempt to shift the focus of debates, which have been led by former Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae on issues such as prosecutorial reform and the 'one person, one vote' principle, toward a competition over the so-called 'ruling party qualities.'

Former Prime Minister Kim Minseok, who is running for the Democratic Party of Korea leadership election, is taking questions from the press after holding a campaign declaration press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center on July 6, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On July 7, former Prime Minister Kim will hold a forum at the National Assembly under the theme "Beyond Balanced Development, Toward Region-Led Growth." Moon Shin-hak, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, will give a presentation on "The Three Mega-Projects and Region-Led Growth." This forum was organized to support the success of the "three mega-projects" recently announced by President Lee. Kim's camp explained, "The three mega-projects are a national strategy for a major leap forward in South Korea's future industries, and their success will depend on how stably regions can secure strategy, water supply, land, talent, and infrastructure." They added, "As the ruling party, we are holding this forum to discuss legislative, budgetary, and regional policy support measures."

In addition, former Prime Minister Kim plans to hold weekly forums on various topics, including the issues facing the youth of 2030 and building a youth-friendly Democratic Party, the "grand integration" of unity, solidarity, and expansion, as well as forums on the "AI Democratic Party" or "party member-centered democracy."

Appearing on KBS Radio's "Jeon-gyeok Sisa" on the same day, he said, "By focusing on these topics, I have set the agenda for debates at the party convention." Referring to former representative Jeong, Kim criticized, "Politics is about being accountable for results, and over the past year, support for the administration has not translated into support for the party." He specifically pointed out issues such as being overly focused on prosecutorial reform and neglecting support for government reform initiatives, as well as the lack of meaningful debate and deliberation. By bringing debates to the forefront and setting the agenda, Kim is also evaluating the Democratic Party's performance over the past year.

Jeong Cheong-rae, former representative, and Song Young-gil, former representative, are attending the Democratic Party of Korea Members of the National Assembly workshop held at a hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Former representative Jeong will also hold a "Policy Forum for the Success of the Southwest Semiconductor Cluster" on July 8 together with lawmakers Choi Min-hee, Lee Sung-yoon, and Han Min-soo, in a counter move. The previous day, he posted on social media, "I will not go negative" and "I will only use the language of comrades," effectively characterizing Kim's criticism as negative campaigning and signaling that he would not respond in kind. Jeong is expected to officially declare his candidacy for party leadership later in the week.

On the previous day, former representative Song Young-gil was seen at the National Defense Committee plenary session carrying his "Declaration of Candidacy for Party Leader." He is expected to announce his candidacy on July 8. After returning to the National Assembly as a lawmaker in the 22nd National Assembly, Song introduced his first bill, the "Used Car Export Industry Promotion Act," which seeks to designate the domestic used car export industry as a national strategic industry. The bill drew attention for its bipartisan support, being co-sponsored not only by Democratic Party lawmakers but also by Jogyung-tae and Choi Hyung-doo of the People Power Party, and Kang Kyung-sook of the Korea Innovation Party.

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