DP leader Kim Min-seok warns hardliners on prosecution reform; lawmaker pushes back
Version 3: A hardline ruling-party lawmaker, Kim Yong-min, publicly rejected restraint, saying compromise would revive the insurrection forces, and a business outlet also reported a dispute between the presidential office and Cho Kuk over whether he had previously accepted supplementary investigation rights.
In short
Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said on Oct 6 that excessive demands over prosecution reform could undermine the reform camp and the president's leadership, and that the party should now restrain them. He said the demands of strong reform advocates have largely been met and in some areas exceeded. A ruling-party lawmaker, Kim Yong-min, pushed back, saying compromise would revive the insurrection forces, according to Korea Economic Daily.
Read the full story 3 min read
Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said on Oct 6 that at a time when the party should focus on livelihood reform, excessive demands or claims could damage the reform camp, its ranks and front and the president's own leadership, and that if such concerns exist the party should now restrain them. He made the remarks on the party's YouTube broadcast “Minti 07”, according to Kukmin Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, Yonhap, Maeil Business, Seoul Economic Daily, Dong-A Ilbo and Korea Economic Daily. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
Kim said those who had strongly advocated prosecution reform have had most of their demands met and that in some areas the push has gone further than originally sought. He cited the Uri Party era's split over revising the National Security Law, saying the party then divided between removing the objectionable clauses and abolishing the law outright, and that the failure to settle the matter left it with nothing and drove the party into prolonged political difficulty. He said the standard for reform is people's lives and that delivering real results matters more than the clarity of goals. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
President Lee Jae-myung said the previous day on X that no one should use prosecution reform as a pretext to control personnel and specific investigation and prosecution work out of selfish motives, and said the separation of investigation and indictment — which he called the essence of reform — has been completed to the point that supplementary investigation is banned. Yonhap assessed that Kim's comments were intended to reinforce the president's message to hardliners. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
The Chosun Ilbo said the remarks were seen as aimed at ruling-camp hardliners amid continuing backlash over the nomination of Kim Ji-yong as head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, naming Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae and lawmaker Kim Yong-min. Dong-A Ilbo referred to the backlash over the nomination without naming anyone; Yonhap, Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily did not mention the nomination or the individuals. [ 2 , 6 ]
Korea Economic Daily reported in its headline that lawmaker Kim Yong-min responded that compromising would revive the insurrection forces. The same outlet also reported that Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's policy research institute, pushed back after the presidential office cited his past remarks to say he had conditionally accepted supplementary investigation rights; Cho said that was a personal position and that the party line is their full abolition. [ 7 ]
Kim also spoke about the second state audit of the Lee government, which began the same day. He said the ruling party would point out problems in implementation but in broad terms support the government's work and defend it when the opposition raises claims he described as contrary to fact, and he named livelihood finance, youth employment and jeonse and monthly rent issues as areas to watch. On the Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit, held amid the standoff over the rejection of a renewed recommendation for a Supreme Court justice nominee, he said he expected chairman Seo Young-kyo to adjust and exercise restraint where the public might see questioning as excessive while asking everything that needs to be asked. [ 3 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The ruling party leader and the president are both signalling that the prosecution reform push should be reined in as the government's second state audit begins. The public pushback from a hardline lawmaker shows the internal dispute over the pace of the overhaul is not settled, which could affect the audit and the government's remaining legislative agenda.
Key facts
- Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said on Oct 6 that if excessive demands risk undermining the reform camp, its ranks and front and the president's leadership, the party should now restrain them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Kim said the demands of those who strongly advocated prosecution reform have mostly been satisfied and in some areas gone further. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Kim made the remarks on the party's YouTube broadcast “Minti 07”. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- President Lee Jae-myung said the previous day on X that no one should use prosecution reform as a pretext to control personnel and specific investigation and prosecution work out of selfish motives. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim cited the Uri Party era's split over revising the National Security Law, saying the failure to settle the matter left the party with nothing and drove it into prolonged political difficulty. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Kim said the standard for reform is people's lives and that delivering real results matters more than the clarity of goals. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reported that lawmaker Kim Yong-min said compromising would revive the insurrection forces. [ 7 ]
- Kim also spoke about the second state audit of the Lee government that began the same day, naming livelihood finance, youth employment and jeonse and monthly rent issues as areas to watch. [ 3 , 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said on Oct 6 that excessive demands over prosecution reform risk undermining the reform camp, its ranks and front and the president's leadership, and that the party should now restrain them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
- Kim said the demands of those who strongly advocated prosecution reform have mostly been satisfied and in some areas exceeded. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Kim made the remarks on the party's YouTube broadcast “Minti 07”. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- President Lee Jae-myung said the previous day on X that no one should use prosecution reform as a pretext to control personnel and specific investigation and prosecution work out of selfish motives. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kim said the standard for reform is people's lives and that real results matter more than the clarity of goals. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Kim cited the Uri Party era's split over National Security Law revision as an example of hardline demands blocking results. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Kim said the ruling party would point out problems in the government's implementation of its tasks during the second state audit but broadly support its work, and named livelihood finance, youth employment and jeonse and monthly rent as areas to watch. [ 3 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Kim's remarks were aimed at Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae and Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min over the nomination of Kim Ji-yong as head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency. Only the Chosun Ilbo named the two people and presented the link as an interpretation rather than a direct statement by Kim; Dong-A Ilbo referred to backlash over the nomination without naming anyone, and Yonhap, Maeil Business and Seoul Economic Daily did not mention it.
- Whether the separation of investigation and indictment is complete, including a ban on supplementary investigation, as President Lee stated. The claim appears in the president's own X message as quoted by Chosun Ilbo, Yonhap and Maeil Business; the documents offer no independent confirmation of the status of the legislation.
- What lawmaker Kim Yong-min said in full and when and where he said it. It appears only in a Korea Economic Daily headline, which gives no details or date for the remark; no other document mentions a response from him.
- How far the party will actually restrain its reform wing, or what measures it might take. Kim spoke of restraint in general terms; none of the documents describes a specific party decision or action.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- President Lee Jae-myung says on X that prosecution reform must not be used as a pretext to control personnel and investigation and prosecution work. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kukmin Ilbo publishes its report on Kim Min-seok's warning to hardliners over prosecution reform. [ 1 ]
- Chosun Ilbo publishes its report on Kim's remarks. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap publishes its report. [ 3 ]
- Maeil Business publishes its report. [ 4 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily publishes its report. [ 5 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo publishes its report. [ 6 ]
- Korea Economic Daily publishes a report on the warning and on lawmaker Kim Yong-min's response. [ 7 ]
- Korea Economic Daily publishes a second report on Kim's call for restraint. [ 8 ]