Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok issued a warning to critics of President Lee Jae-myung within his own party, saying the situation resembles "the early signs of the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun." The appointment of a former prosecutor as the inaugural chief of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency has prompted prosecution-reform hardliners, led by Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, to openly push back against Lee — a development seen as a fresh eruption of accumulated tensions inside the broader pro-government bloc. As the fallout widened, Lee ordered additional vetting of nominee Kim Ji-yong.
Appearing on the Democratic Party's YouTube program "Minti07" on the 14th, Kim said: "Aren't we heading toward something resembling the early signs of that period, when forces inside and outside joined hands to impeach President Roh as he was settling into his first year?" He added: "I can accept people outside doing this, but this is baffling. The president has entered his first year — this is a time to pull together, not a time to criticize."
Kim's warning came in response to remarks by Governor Choo, who recently criticized Lee head-on. Of Choo, Kim said: "People would have found it odd to hear that as a statement from a responsible Democratic Party politician, or from a governor." He added: "I think she needs to explain herself as to why she said it that way."
Earlier, at a memorial event on the 12th, Choo referred to the nomination of attorney Kim Ji-yong, a former prosecutor, as head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency and said: "The president should be punishing the insurrection forces, so why is he leaning on them and agonizing?" Lee expressed displeasure on his X account, formerly Twitter, calling it "radical agitation that exploits the pure aspirations of some who want revolutionary change in order to showcase one's own ideological purity." Kim, as head of the governing party, then followed up with a public warning.
Kim's reference to Roh's impeachment is read as a pointed, high-intensity warning aimed at Choo's own record in that episode. In March 2004, Choo supported the impeachment of Roh. She later faced a backlash and apologized to the party's base by performing three days of samboilbae — a Buddhist penitential practice of bowing every three steps — in Gwangju.
Despite Kim's warning, more overt pushback followed across the pro-government bloc. Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Institute, criticized Lee's strategy of broadening his coalition, saying: "Anyone who denies the relay of democratic governments and habitually divides the camp from within is a traitorous subject." Responding to Kim's "Roh impeachment" remark, he shot back: "This is how the notion of 'impeaching Lee Jae-myung' gets circulated." Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Gun-young told Lee that "he must not try to defeat the people."
Hardliners within the party who doubt Lee's commitment to prosecution reform are also joining in. At a press conference at the National Assembly, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min called on nominee Kim to withdraw, saying: "Handing the leadership of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency to someone who was at the forefront of defending prosecutorial investigative powers does not fit the purpose of its establishment." Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jung said of the nominee: "A triumphant return by people who denied prosecution reform is a contradiction, and the president's appointment is a mistake." As the backlash intensified, Lee is said to have ordered additional vetting of the nominee. The nomination was formally recommended on the 7th of this month, but with the additional vetting underway, the request for a confirmation hearing has yet to be delivered to the National Assembly a week later.
The party's pro-Lee faction has reacted with anger. Lawmaker Hwang Myung-seon condemned Choo's remarks, saying: "Beyond dismay, I feel anger. It is the kind of extreme language you would have hurled at Yoon Suk-yeol." He appealed for the base to rally, saying: "This is not a time to divide. We must protect the president." Lawmaker Chae Hyun-il criticized those voicing criticism, calling it "self-harming politics that damages the momentum of state affairs and only deepens public distrust." Former party leader Song Young-gil snapped at Choo, telling her to "be faithful to her duties as Gyeonggi governor."
Political observers say internal dissent will keep breaking out unless the continuing slide in Lee's approval rating is halted. According to a survey by Realmeter, commissioned by Energy Economy Shinmun and conducted from the 7th to the 11th and released that day — covering 2,515 adults nationwide by automated response calls to mobile phones, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level — positive assessments of Lee's handling of state affairs fell 3.6 percentage points from the previous week to 33.8%, setting another record low. Support among those aged 18 to 29 dropped a full 10.2 percentage points from a week earlier, to 18.6%.
