Kim Min-seok, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 15th that the decline in President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating is "close to hitting bottom." He signaled his resolve to make this week, which marks one month since the Aug. 17 party convention, a turning point for a rebound. Within the broader pro-government camp, however, public disputes over prosecution reform and the appointment of the chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency have continued, reigniting factional and ideological conflict.
Speaking at a joint meeting of metropolitan and provincial party chapter chairs held at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Kim said the approval rating "has continued to fall because of various internal and external troubles caused by the poor showing in the local elections, but on close examination, I believe the bottom is now imminent." He added that "the rating is low because the end of the first-year honeymoon of the administration has coincided with a period of overall policy recalibration," stressing that "the party must take responsibility for relations between the party and the presidential office, halt the decline in approval and turn it around."
Conditions inside the pro-government camp, however, are far from easy. Kim, a senior Democratic Party figure, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae exchanged pointed attacks over prosecution reform and the appointment of the investigation agency chief, and the dispute has escalated further with the invocation of the impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun. With Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's reform policy research institute, joining in, the discord across the broader pro-government camp appears to be widening.
Appearing on the Democratic Party's YouTube channel "Minti07" the same day, Kim explained his remarks likening the situation to the run-up to Roh's impeachment, saying "the lesson is that the forces that made a pointless impeachment attempt were ruined." He had compared criticism of the Lee Jae-myung government from inside and outside the party to the past impeachment episode to call for unity, then moved quickly to contain the fallout as the controversy grew. Targeting Cho, who had criticized his remarks by saying "the notion of impeaching Lee Jae-myung is being spread," Kim countered that it was "meaningless and excessive agitation disguised as concern."
The current conflict within the broader pro-government camp spread after Choo unleashed pointed criticism of Lee, using prosecution reform and the appointment of the investigation agency chief as her line of attack. On the 12th, she took aim at the nomination of Kim Ji-yong as candidate for chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, saying, "The president should be punishing the insurrection forces, so why is he agonizing over them?" Kim responded on the 14th, saying, "Isn't this heading toward a situation similar to the run-up to when forces inside and outside tried to impeach President Roh at a time when he should have been settling in?" The remark was a direct jab at Choo, who supported Roh's impeachment in 2004.
Within the Democratic Party, voices are calling for caution against internal conflict at a time of falling approval ratings. Rep. Lee Hae-sik said on MBC radio that Choo's comments were "remarks that lost a sense of balance," while also criticizing Kim's reference to impeachment, saying that "approaching this issue emotionally is not desirable." Rep. Lee Kwang-jae also voiced concern on KBS radio, saying, "Division within the party will ultimately make things difficult for everyone."
