Democratic Party Leader Asks President to Reconsider Red Cross Appointment

Kim Min-seok, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has asked President Lee Jae-myung to reconsider approving the appointment of former People Power Party lawmaker John Linton as president of the Korean Red Cross. The request is being read as a move aimed at the party's base amid continuing internal conflict and weak approval ratings following the party convention. The presidential office said it would review the request.

Park Sung-joon, the party's chief spokesperson, told reporters on the 26th after a supreme council meeting in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, that Kim had conveyed the view separately. "After the dinner between President Lee and the Democratic Party leadership at the presidential office yesterday, Chairman Kim separately conveyed his view that it would be better not to appoint Chairman Linton," Park said, adding that it was "the result of gathering opinions from inside and outside the party."

According to the "August 2026 Employment Review Results for Retired Public Officials" released by the National Assembly the previous day, the National Assembly Public Service Ethics Committee determined that Linton's employment as Red Cross president was permissible. He can therefore take office once he receives the president's approval.

Criticism that the appointment was inappropriate emerged from within and outside the Democratic Party immediately after the Red Cross elected Linton as its president in June. Linton did not take part in the December 2024 vote to lift martial law and expressed opposition to the impeachment motion against former President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Analysts say the party leadership's decision to disclose Kim's recommendation is not unrelated to a situation in which factional conflict has gone unresolved since the party convention and concerns persist over an erosion of support. A ruling bloc official said the move was "a message directed at supporters who had expected a reform-oriented course."

The presidential office said it would review Kim's request. "Chairman Kim's recommendation has been conveyed," a presidential office official said, adding that it was "scheduled for review." Kim also named additional political appointees to party posts the same day. The Democratic Party has decided that Kim will serve as chair of its talent committee, personally overseeing the recruitment of new candidates in preparation for next year's by-elections and the 2028 general elections.