The Democratic Party of Korea begins the first broadcast of its official YouTube channel, Democratic Party TV, or "Minti," at 7 a.m. on the 1st. With the program overlapping the time slot of "Kim Ou-joon's Humility Is Hard: News Factory," the launch has revived talk that the party is moving to check pro-government media outlets, a reading the party dismissed by describing the relationship as "cooperative, not competitive."
The party has expanded and rebranded its existing official YouTube channel, "Deli Minjoo," as Democratic Party TV, with the first pilot broadcast starting at 7 a.m. that day. The aim, the party said, is to respond to a rapidly changing media environment by delivering its official positions and policies directly to the public and party members, and by setting the agenda on major political issues ahead of others.
The morning live program, tentatively named "Minti 07," covers the party's key policies and current issues. The first broadcast features "Mega Ten," which lays out the party's future strategy, as its central topic.
The launch of Democratic Party TV was a task that Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok publicly ordered immediately after being elected party leader. Kim at the time called for an arrangement in which "all of the party's news should begin as an early morning broadcast through Democratic Party TV."
Because the 7 a.m. start time effectively overlaps with Kim Ou-joon's "News Factory," which begins at 7:05 a.m. on weekdays, some in political circles have suggested the party may be seeking to build up its own media influence and reduce its reliance on existing pro-government channels. Democratic Party lawmakers have appeared one after another on Kim's program and others to deliver party news and political views, and the argument is that Minti is an attempt to absorb that influence. Kim Min-seok has previously shown friction with Kim Ou-joon, publicly objecting after the pollster Yeoron Josa Kkot included him in a survey on support for candidates for the next Seoul mayor.
The party leader, however, drew a line against such talk of competition. On the 30th of last month, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that "Minti is a broadcast that sets the tone — an official Democratic Party medium that establishes the official political and policy line of the party and the reform camp, as well as the tone of government publicity," adding that "the party's official positions will be delivered to the public and party members through the party's official representative face and representative voice."
He went on to compare the relationship between Democratic Party TV and other media outlets to that between a textbook and a workbook. "Minti, the party's own medium, is the textbook, and other media are workbooks," Kim said. "The diversity of broadcasting, including entertainment and commentary, will continue to be handled by the various existing private media outlets." He added that "there will be no competition and much cooperation."
The party also made clear that the program is not intended to compete with existing progressive-leaning channels. "Minti 07 is not in a competitive relationship with the excellent existing democratic and progressive channels," said Kim Nam-joon, chair of the party's public relations committee. "We will play a role in building a healthy and dignified ecosystem of public debate in which various perspectives come together, through solidarity and cooperation with one another."
The program consists of two parts. In the first part, Kim Min-seok appears in person to explain key agenda items and policy visions, including "Mega Ten." Kim plans to appear as a regular until the program finds its footing, communicating directly with the public and party members. The second part features panelists analyzing key agenda items from various angles, along with a culture and arts commentary segment that approaches politics and the arts from a fresh perspective.
The show runs with a single host. Former anchor Park Young-sik, who presented news programs at MBN and Yonhap News TV, and former JTBC reporter and anchor Ahn Tae-hoon serve as main hosts. Ahn Sun-ha, a former World Health Organization consultant on AI, climate and health who served as co-chair of the party's election committee for the June 3 local elections, joins as a regular panelist. Deputy spokespersons Kang Sung-pil, Lee Ji-hye and Sung Chi-hoon also appear on a rotating basis by day of the week.
As a rule, the live broadcast does not run longer than 37 minutes. Additional material recorded afterward is produced separately as "Behind the Scenes of Minti 07" and released at noon the same day.
The party plans to run pilot broadcasts on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the first two weeks, gather feedback from viewers and party members, and then begin regular broadcasts five days a week at 7 a.m. starting on the 14th.
