Reform, progressive, conservative, and moderate must all be embraced... Rhyu Si-min and Jeong Cheong-rae were wrong.
Merger with the Innovation Party, the process went wrong... When integrating, it must be done in the form of an absorption merger.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jeong-jin = As soon as former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok retired from his position as prime minister and returned to Yeouido, he directly attacked his rival for the party leadership, former leader Chung Cheong-rae, saying, "It is difficult to find the need or inevitability to serve (as representative) twice in the same way as we have done so far."
Former Prime Minister Kim said this in a video released by the YouTube channel 'Oh My TV' on the 1st, saying, "Now is the time when we need leadership with a different color, competency, style, and advantage than former CEO Chung Cheong-rae."
He said, “We are experiencing difficulties for the first time (since the launch of the government) due to (National Assembly) by-elections and local elections,” and added, “The scope of the party’s role and the size of its tasks have become wider, bigger, and stronger. Now is the time for the party to move in more earnest.”
He continued, “I have my own ideas about how the party should go and what it should do, so I want to reflect them as much as possible,” and emphasized, “We believe that the Lee Jae-myung administration is opening the first chapter of the golden age of Korean history, and we must do everything to make it a reality.”
Regarding the so-called reconstruction theory of author Yoo Si-min, a pan-ruling party polemicist, he emphasized, "We cannot make concessions and compromise because we believe that doing so will make it impossible for democratic forces to run the government, succeed in state affairs, win the general election, or continue in power. That is in line with the direction of the Lee Jae-myung administration's state affairs."
He said, "We must embrace rational reform, progressivism, conservatism, and moderates. There is no choice. I am a person who believes that efforts must be made to enrich the party. I have a different opinion from Writer Yoo and former Representative Jeong. I think that is wrong."
Former Prime Minister Kim responded to Writer Yoo's criticism of President Lee's policy of inclusiveness and integration by saying, "Isn't that too much confidence?" He added, "Trying to become everyone's president is not overconfidence, but a natural obligation. Even if you become president with the support of a certain class or political party, in principle, it is a natural obligation to try to create the best possible outcome for everyone."
He also criticized former Representative Jeong regarding the issue of merger with the Fatherland Innovation Party, which was proposed by former Representative Jeong at the beginning of the year but aborted due to opposition within the party, saying, "I believe that the raising of the issue and the process of resolving it were wrong, so I made a mistake."
At the same time, he said, “I think that the same forces unite and those who are different unite, and that integration, solidarity, and expansion are absolutely necessary,” and suggested, “It is better for the Innovation Party to make a clear decision on its own and reveal (its position) on the issue of whether to integrate or form solidarity.”
He continued, “If (the Innovation Party) wants to pursue progressive politics with a different platform or identity from the Democratic Party, then they can organize, form solidarity, and unify the necessary parts. If not, then they can unify.”
Regarding the method of integration with the Innovation Party, he said, "In the actual political situation, the Democratic Party is the party in charge of national affairs, it is a huge party whose size is incomparable, and the Democratic Party is a representative party with historical history."
In addition, regarding the issue of the August 17 National Convention, he said, “I don’t think there are that many conflicting issues,” and repeatedly expressed his support for the abolition of the right to supplementary investigation and “party member sovereignty,” which focuses on the one-member-one-vote system of rights party members.
