Kim Min-seok, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, called on the party to rally behind President Lee Jae-myung as the president's approval ratings decline, arguing that party unity should be used to bolster the government.
"As we move from the first year of the presidency into the second, it is important to firmly protect the president we created, through these temporary swings in approval ratings and through troubles at home and abroad," Kim said on the 17th.
Asked about the party's guiding stance during a broadcast of "Minti 07" on the party's YouTube channel, Democratic Party TV, on the morning of the 17th, Kim answered, "We are the president."
"The 19th is the 71st anniversary of our party's founding. That is connected to the question of where the party should go from here," Kim said. "The Democratic Party's identity is built on integration. The plan is to move beyond the integration of the four leaders — Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung — toward a whole-party integration that includes the leadership, the members and the supporters."
"Our duty is to draw on all of our experience to protect the president and to make sure the next four years hold firm," he said. "The resolve and the spirit of our party as we mark the founding anniversary should be to work with more than 100 times the determination we brought to the presidential election."
"Integration among all party members is the most basic of basics, and the party's duty is to build on that integration to give the president solid support and enable the government to move forward," he stressed.
On allegations of involvement by the Shincheonji religious group and on dual party memberships, Kim said, "As for Shincheonji, I understand the investigation is under way." He added, "I understand they are checking the police investigation and sorting out in which direction to request a more advanced inquiry, and that it can be disclosed at an appropriate time."
"Dual party membership is wrong in principle, and I have said it needs to be sorted out, since cases exist not only across the ruling and opposition parties but also within the progressive camp, in the Rebuilding Korea Party and elsewhere," he said. "In particular, if the question of a merger is raised, it is an issue that must be settled in advance, assuming a vote of party members."
"I raised the issue of talks with progressive parties, including easing the requirements for a negotiating bloc, and I discussed it with the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Basic Income Party during my recent rounds. Most of the responses were positive," he said. "The Rebuilding Korea Party said there had been no contact, but contact was probably completed around yesterday. Discussions on sorting out the dual membership issue are also under way together."
On a system to cultivate young politicians, Kim said, "We are preparing a system to train young interns, called a politics and administration internship, with a target of about 1,000 people a year." He added, "Everything comes down to becoming a younger Democratic Party — one that can survive when today's young adults have grown up, and one that can talk with them and answer them."
"Because we have emphasized people in their 20s and 30s and population aging, the reality is that our generation, people in their 40s through 60s, works the most, pays the most in taxes and receives the least consideration," Kim said. "Going forward, I intend to intensively strengthen policies for people in their 40s and 50s, or their 40s through 60s."
Choi Min-hee, a member of the party's supreme council who appeared on the same broadcast, said: "If the approval rating has fallen, we should think about raising it together. I once told the leader that we would probably face about six months of difficulty, because managing people's livelihoods and the effects of policy do not line up." She added, "I hope we tie our shoelaces and run together. If we look for a way forward together and work to heal internal conflict, we can reverse the decline in the approval rating."
Park Sun-won, another member of the supreme council, said, "There can be ups and downs in approval ratings, but we have to overcome them." He added, "The leader set the board well after the party convention, so from now on each lawmaker will work hard with a charge-ahead spirit. It has been a month since the new leadership took office, and we just need to hold the center and lead. I think we will be fine if we push through the next three months."
