Kim Min-seok Orders Internal Probe Amid Furor Over Choi Min-hee's Impeachment Remarks
A report that Democratic Party of Korea Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee said at a private meeting in October that President Lee Jae-myung had in effect opposed the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol has sent shockwaves through both the party and the presidential office.
According to the report, Choi made remarks at the closed-door meeting in October suggesting that President Lee had effectively been against Yoon's impeachment. This directly contradicts the Democratic Party's official stance of supporting impeachment in the wake of the martial law crisis. The presidential office immediately distanced itself, issuing a clarification in the name of senior spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stating the claim was untrue, and drew a clear line between the Supreme Council member's personal remarks and the president's actual position.
The Party Moved First
As the controversy grew, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok reportedly ordered an internal investigation into Choi. Launching a probe against a Supreme Council member is an unusual step within the party structure. It is interpreted as a judgment that this is not merely a matter of a verbal misstep, but an issue whose veracity could affect the legitimacy of both the president and the party.
Recent news coverage shows that even before this controversy, Choi drew criticism for referring to National Assembly reporters as a "pack of hyenas." With repeated clashes with the media in a short period, questions about the Supreme Council member's standing and responsibilities have come under scrutiny within the party. This stands in contrast to the roughly three-hour dinner between President Lee and Chairman Kim at the presidential office, where they stressed unity between the party and the administration and proclaimed "one heart, one mind" — making this incident look like a breach from outside that united front.
Discord Erupts Amid Falling Approval Ratings
The timing makes matters heavier. In an NBS survey, President Lee's positive rating for handling state affairs fell 2 percentage points from two weeks earlier to 44%, while negative ratings stood at 47%, having overtaken the positive figure. In this environment, remarks by a ruling party Supreme Council member stirring doubts about the president's past stance on impeachment risk compounding declining support from centrist voters with internal party turmoil.
Internal rifts within the Democratic Party already run deep. Tensions have persisted between pro-Seok and pro-Cheong factions and between the "New Jae-myung" camp and core supporters over allegations of mass Shincheonji membership recruitment, and inter-factional friction has surfaced, with former Chairman Chung Chung-rae delivering harsh words to Rep. Park Ji-won. Chairman Kim has diagnosed these internal conflicts and the defection of centrists as causes of falling approval ratings — and the Choi Min-hee controversy is a negative factor that fits that diagnosis precisely.
Why the Presidential Office and the Party Had to Respond Differently
From the presidential office's perspective, the remarks are not something that can simply be brushed aside. The impeachment of former President Yoon is the political backdrop to the Lee Jae-myung administration's launch, and the president's attitude toward it is a core code for consolidating his support base. The clarification issued in senior spokesperson Kang Yu-jung's name is seen as an effort to shut down any misunderstanding about the president's stance at an early stage. The presidential office has recently bolstered its communications apparatus, appointing Regional Committee Chair Jeon Ye-hyun as deputy spokesperson to complete a four-person spokesperson team — and each new controversy now tests that reinforced response system.
Within the party, the question of Choi's future is expected to become a pressing issue depending on the outcome of the internal investigation. The probe may be limited to verifying the facts of her remarks, but it could also expand into examining responsibility for the public fallout caused by comments made at the closed-door meeting. As President Lee maintains a posture of direct confrontation, saying he is "not afraid of controversy," a separate challenge now looms: whether the ruling party can control controversies erupting within its own ranks.
Outlook and Ripple Effects
In the short term, the pace and conclusion of the internal investigation are likely to determine how things unfold. A prolonged investigation could bring internal conflict to the surface and amplify downward pressure on approval ratings. Conversely, if the matter is resolved quickly with facts confirmed and responsibility established, the controversy may remain contained.
In the longer term, the task of passing next year's budget remains. With President Lee calling on the ruling party and the National Assembly to cooperate on the budget bill, a prolonged internal power struggle within the ruling party could sap momentum for governing. At a time when major initiatives such as the 39.2 trillion-won megaproject in the Chungcheong region need to move forward, the party and the presidential office face the challenge of quickly wrapping up this controversy and shifting to controlled messaging.
