A newly appointed deputy chief of the Democratic Party of Korea's ethics inspection unit sent an internal message suggesting that associates of the party's former leader were interfering in additional appointments to the unit, prompting party leader Kim Min-seok to dismiss him immediately in an effort to contain the fallout. The episode revived concerns that factional tensions, which had subsided after the party convention, are resurfacing.
Cameras from several news outlets captured Democratic Party Supreme Council member Park Sun-won receiving the message from Kang Min-koo, the deputy chief, during the opening ceremony of the first regular session of the second half of the 22nd National Assembly on the 1st. In the message, Kang told Park that "it looks like Jung Chung-rae's people have gone to work on Rep. Kim Ki-pyo" and that "we need to move fast and take control."
Kang wrote that another candidate was being recommended for the deputy chief post, naming "Jang In-jae and one other person." He added that "Jang In-jae, the deputy chief from Jung Chung-rae's side, is a former prosecution investigator, so it seems they have gone to work on Rep. Kim Ki-pyo." Kang also said he had not received word from party headquarters about reporting for duty and asked Park to raise the matter with the secretary-general.
Kim appointed Rep. Kim Ki-pyo, a former prosecutor, as head of the ethics inspection unit on the 21st of last month, and named Kang as deputy chief on the 31st of the same month. The unit, which reports directly to the party leader, is a standing body that investigates illegal conduct and misconduct by the party's lawmakers and senior officials.
Kim dismissed Kang immediately after the message was captured. Mending the rift with lawmakers aligned with Jung Chung-rae has been seen as one of the leader's top priorities since he took office, and the swift action is read as an attempt to head off concerns that factional conflict could flare up again after such overt factional activity came to light.
