President Lee Jae-myung has lowered his posture and extended a hand to unify the broader pro-government bloc, but complaints are erupting one after another from within his own camp. After progressive commentator and writer Rhyu Si-min sharply criticized the president's press conference, which stressed unity within the camp, Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Institute, continued the public criticism by telling the Democratic Party leadership to "stop the politics of exclusion." With figures from the pro-Moon Jae-in and pro-Lee Jae-myung factions joining in, concerns are growing that cracks in the pro-government bloc are deepening further.
According to political circles on the 23rd, Cho said through social media that day that Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok and the rest of the leadership "must make clear that they will not practice the politics of exclusion," adding, "I hope you will order the entire party to hold its tongue." While granting significance to the president's reform efforts, he took direct aim at the Democratic Party, saying it "keeps missing the mark" and that "it is a serious problem that the atmosphere around the president and the Democratic Party diverges this much." He went on to stress once again the broader progressive camp's contribution to putting the administration in power, saying, "The Lee Jae-myung administration was not created by the strength of one particular faction within the Democratic Party alone."
Rhyu has been raising the level of his criticism day after day, aiming directly at the president. On a YouTube broadcast on the 22nd, he denounced the president's commitment to prosecution reform, saying it was "something completely different from the prosecution reform we had in mind" and that he "has deceived the public until now." He also dismissed the president's message of unity within the camp, saying, "It is meaningless talk. The point where such words could settle things has passed." Rep. Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party, a member of the pro-Lee faction, defended Rhyu's "pebble in the shoe" remark, responding, "If there is a pebble in your shoe, you take it off and shake it out. It came from the wish that the Lee Jae-myung administration must succeed."
Observers say the president's efforts at unity are being undercut as "speakers" with strong influence over the pro-government base send out conflicting messages. At a press conference on the 18th, the president called for unity among supporters, saying, "We are all pro-Moon, pro-Roh, pro-Kim Dae-jung, and comrades of Lee Jae-myung." He also personally telephoned former Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae, who was hospitalized from overwork, to offer comfort, and sent a critical biography of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun to every Democratic Party lawmaker. A party official said, "The president showed his sincerity about unity to the traditional base in a low-key way, while emphasizing his resolve inside the party through action."
The pro-Lee faction within the party is pushing back against the public criticism. There are also concerns that the message of unity is instead serving as a trigger for conflict. Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the Democratic Party's Supreme Council, said at a Supreme Council meeting that day that he felt "strong regret" over Rhyu's remarks, adding, "The rougher our words toward one another become, the only ones smiling will be the People Power Party, which wants to halt reform."
One pro-Lee lawmaker said in a phone call, "The president himself has acknowledged his shortcomings and even promised to review the personnel system, so I do not know who is helped by stones being thrown one after another from within the same camp." The lawmaker added, "Even if criticism is needed, right now we should let the government catch its breath so it can focus on livelihood issues and reform." Another pro-Lee lawmaker said that "having allies play the role of a red team is itself necessary," but added, "If this way of separating the president from the ruling party and pressuring them publicly is repeated, the base may read it as division rather than reform." The lawmaker continued, "More than the content of the criticism, we need to look back at whether this kind of approach helps the government succeed."
Within the party, there is wariness that the discord will spread and escalate into conflict inside the camp. Kim Young-jin, a core member of the pro-Lee faction, said on radio that day, "Through the press conference, the president also acknowledged and apologized for his own shortcomings and spoke of the broad direction of 'let us not fight and move forward for the future,'" adding, "Rhyu needs to adjust his position to fit the changed situation." Choi Min-hee, a Supreme Council member aligned with the pro-Jung Chung-rae faction, cited the president's gift of the Roh Moo-hyun biography to Democratic Party lawmakers and said, "The president's intent is clear — that the democratic reform forces should become one again and then expand toward the center." She also said of the critics, "Words can be used as a political tool to attack someone, and they can also be used as a means to deepen division."
