"President Is Acting Like a Faction Leader"…Yoo Si-min Escalates His Criticism Again

Escalating Criticism Ahead of the August 17 Party Convention
"President Wants a Specific Candidate to Win"
"Not a Curse," "No Intention to Meet"

Yoo Si-min, former director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, who has recently been issuing strong criticisms of President Lee Jae-myung, escalated his rhetoric once again.

Former Chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, Yoo Si-min, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Jo Seung-won's News Highkick.' YouTube

On July 23, in an interview on MBC Radio's 'Jo Seungwon's News Highkick,' Yoo stated, "From my perspective, the President is acting like the head of a faction," adding, "If things are done that way, it creates problems for everyone." Referring to the Democratic Party of Korea's national convention scheduled for August 17, he said, "The President wants a specific candidate to win," and remarked, "Given the statements and actions of lawmakers and politicians who align themselves with Lee Jae-myung, as well as the President’s public remarks to date, it is evident."

Yoo continued, "The camp supporting candidate Kim Min-seok openly says that 'the party leader should be someone who is able to work closely with the President.' In contrast, they claim that candidate Jung Cheong-rae has poor rapport with the President and has engaged in his own style of politics, although I’m not sure what the basis is — that seems to be the dividing line between the factions." He added, "The Democratic Party is not an organization of civil servants. Politics is about empathy and communication, not about exercising authority." He further stated, "Whoever becomes the party leader is not the President's subordinate. If the President acknowledges that fact and works with the party the way he works with career civil servants, there will be no problems."

Regarding President Lee's approach to national governance, Yoo assessed the intent and the methods separately. He referenced the investigation into former President Roh Moo-hyun during Lee Myung-bak’s presidency, the impeachment and imprisonment of two former presidents, the launch of Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration and civil unrest, and yet another impeachment and transfer of power. He remarked, "From the President's standpoint, I presume there is a desire to reduce the energy of these clashes and ease political polarization." He further added, "While it may not be possible to become everyone's President, managing state affairs with that aspiration in mind is important."

However, he sharply criticized the methods being used. Yoo said, "Can this actually be achieved with the way the President has governed over the past year? I don’t think so." He went on, "By going against both the demands of the public to save Lee Jae-myung from prosecution-led dictatorship and the hopes of his own supporters, the President risks undermining his own political base and plunging his faction into chaos, resulting in an outcome worse than if he had not even tried."

Regarding speculation from some in the ruling bloc that his comments amount to a "curse," he clarified, "I’m not cursing — I simply believe the President is politically heading down a dangerous path." He also dismissed claims that his recent remarks are part of the "Cho Kuk presidential project" as "pure fabrication," calling them "complete nonsense."

When asked whether he would agree to a private meeting if the presidential office were to request a meeting for advice, Yoo replied, "I have no intention to meet. I believe a public relationship suffices."

President Lee Jae-myung. Photo by Yonhap News

Yoo's criticism of President Lee has become noticeably stronger this month. On July 15, on the YouTube channel 'Mabool Show,' he asserted, "The President is making very poor decisions, behaving in ways that are harmful to himself and detrimental to the country. His efforts to broaden his support among moderates and conservatives will ultimately fail." He further claimed that the reason prosecutorial reform has not been achieved in over a year is "because the President does not want a complete separation between investigative and prosecutorial powers."

On July 21, via the YouTube channel '2-Minute News,' Yoo claimed that President Lee is the leader of the so-called "New Lee Jae-myung" faction. He commented, "It’s not a disruption caused by self-proclaimed pro-Lee Jae-myung camp supporters, but a movement orchestrated by the President and certain aides that began right after he took office." Yoo also likened the government to a fish market, saying it reeks of "rot."

The presidential office has refrained from responding. Kang Yoo-jung, chief spokesperson for the presidential office, stated at a briefing at Chunchugwan on July 16, when asked about Yoo's remarks of "inevitable failure," "We do not offer individual responses or positions on specific comments." However, she emphasized, "The presidential office and President Lee Jae-myung have never wavered on prosecutorial reform, particularly the separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers, which is a core value."

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