Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok warned hardliners within his own party, who have been clashing with President Lee Jae-myung day after day over the appointment of Kim Ji-yong as chief of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, that "the time has come for the party to rein this in."
Speaking on the Democratic Party's YouTube channel on the 6th, Kim said: "At a time when we should be focused on reforms that affect people's daily lives, there is concern that excessive demands or claims could damage the entire reform camp, its ranks and its front line, as well as the president's leadership itself."
Criticizing the hardliners' position, Kim said they "got most of what the original voices calling for prosecution reform had demanded, and then went further." He stressed that "reform requires not only clarity of purpose but also substance in results." He also cited the case of hardliners in the Uri Party during past deliberations on revising the National Security Law, who insisted on outright abolition rather than striking its most damaging provisions and ultimately failed to get their way.
Kim appears to have entered the "reform debate" because he judged that conflict within the camp was reaching a dangerous level, with hardliners escalating their opposition despite the president's repeated explanations. On the 5th, Lee said prosecution reform "is not about building any one individual's political legacy," and he has used social media day after day to go beyond rebutting the hardliners and signal his displeasure.
Still, discontent among hardliners in the broader pro-government bloc shows no sign of easing. Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Institute, took aim at the presidential office on the same day, saying it "is provoking draining disputes at a time when we should be joining forces to bed in a new system." The remarks came after the presidential office issued a notice to the media in the early hours of the day rebutting the Rebuilding Korea Party's claims about the direction of prosecution reform.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party plans to hold a confirmation hearing for Kim Ji-yong on the 14th.
