Kim Min-seok Seeks a Breakthrough Amid Triple Waves of Turmoil
According to Yonhap News, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok has found himself facing three layers of difficulties simultaneously, barely two months after taking office. With internal party disagreements over a National Assembly investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-de (a procedure in which the National Assembly examines the Chief Justice's official duties), factional conflict stemming from the Shincheonji controversy, and the question of a merger with the Cho Kuk Innovation Party all converging, the leadership must now forge consensus within the party and manage the tensions.
The most pressing issue is the matter of Chief Justice Cho. When calls for impeachment resurfaced within the party after the re-nomination controversy, Kim said late last month, "We will proceed step by step, including a parliamentary investigation." The Democratic Party decided after its general caucus meeting to pursue the investigation first, but when opposition emerged at the caucus on the 3rd, the plan was postponed, and the leadership now intends to decide whether to proceed after this week's caucus. According to Yonhap News' reporting on party lawmakers, even the opposition voices are divided in their aims. A hardline faction argues the party should move straight to impeachment instead of an investigation, while a cautious faction says it should focus on livelihood issues rather than the probe. The fact that Chief Justice Cho is scheduled to leave office in June next year is also cited as a variable in terms of the investigation's practical effect.
The merger issue, too, is showing no progress. While former leader Chung Chung-rae has openly raised the prospect of a January deadline, applying pressure, there is considerable opposition within the party to a merger, including lawmaker Song Young-gil's argument for coalition-style cooperation. Kim himself is approaching the matter cautiously, while the Cho Kuk Innovation Party is raising the stakes, threatening even to run 'assassin candidates' against the Democratic Party in the next general election.
