Rhyu Si-min, a prominent commentator aligned with the broader ruling camp, has taken another direct swipe at President Lee Jae-myung. Speaking about the Democratic Party convention that installed Kim Min-seok as its new leader, Rhyu argued that "for the president to 'pick' the ruling party leader and try to get that person elected is a slide toward monarchy and aristocracy."
According to political circles on the 25th, Rhyu made the remarks the previous day on the YouTube channel "Jang In-soo's Journalist," saying, "There is no winner in this national party convention." Assessing the outcome of a convention fought as a factional contest between the pro-Lee Jae-myung camp and the pro-Jung Chung-rae camp, Rhyu said, "What this convention confirmed is that the party has lost half of its members," which he interpreted as "extremely damaging for the president."
Rhyu, who has previously targeted President Lee and the Democratic Party through his so-called "ABC" and "Rebuild" arguments, escalated the intensity of his criticism further that day. "President Lee brought together the entire progressive and reform camp through a political coalition to overcome the insurrection, and won 49 percent (in the presidential election)," he said. "But now President Lee is dismantling his own governing coalition."
"What the president has shown over the past year is the image of an arrogant power-holder," he added. "He is not running state affairs through communication, engagement or empathy."
Rhyu also drew a comparison to the presidency of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. "Watching the way (Yoon) pushed out People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, I said he would soon meet a tragic outcome because he was dismantling his own power base," he said. "(The Lee Jae-myung government) is likewise heading into a very unstable phase as the anti-Lee faction is dismantled."
On former leader Jung, who lost to Kim, Rhyu offered a positive assessment: "I thought clearing 40 percent (of the vote) would count as a success, so this was higher than expected." Rhyu said, "Kim ran as the 'president's proxy," and "I thought it would be difficult for Jung Chung-rae to (win the party leadership)." Analyzing the final convention results, he said, "54 percent elected the president's pick, but 46 percent — including three of the supreme council members — kept the non-mainstream faction alive."
On when the cracks in state governance began, Rhyu pointed to the case of Rep. Kim Nam-kuk. "The point I clearly felt was wrong was during the Kim Nam-kuk affair," he said. "Kim, who sent 'local sister' text messages and offered to resign, became the Democratic Party spokesman and then a lawmaker through strategic nomination. It's a party that has lost its way."
