Speaking on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Morning Focus'

"Establishing a proper party-government relationship is crucial"

Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae (left) shakes hands with lawmaker Song Young-gil as he enters a party caucus meeting at the National Assembly on June 11. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae (left) shakes hands with lawmaker Song Young-gil as he enters a party caucus meeting at the National Assembly on June 11. [Yonhap]

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Song Young-gil said Monday that he stepped down as party leader the day after the 2022 presidential election defeat, taking responsibility for the loss despite pleas from then-candidate Lee Jae Myung to stay on.

Speaking in a phone interview on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Morning Focus," Song addressed the mounting calls for party leader Jung Chung-rae to forgo a bid for a second term following the June 3 local elections. "I hope he will reflect on this for the sake of party unity," Song said, drawing a parallel to his own resignation after the 2022 presidential election defeat.

Recalling the circumstances at the time, Song said opinion within the party was divided. "There were two views — one that we lost an election we should never have lost, and another that Song Young-gil fought hard and narrowed the gap to 0.73 percent in a race that could have been lost by a much wider margin," he said. "I had less than a year left in my term and still held the power to oversee local election candidate nominations, yet I submitted my resignation right before those elections to take responsibility for the presidential defeat."

Song then drew a direct comparison to the current situation. "In this local election, Jung's leadership sees it as a formal victory, while the president and a significant number of lawmakers are pointing out that it was effectively a defeat and a painful one — there is a gap in how the situation is being read," he said. "If the logic is that he won and therefore has every right to seek re-election, then by that same reasoning I had absolutely no need to resign back then either."

Song warned that misreading the public's verdict would lead the party astray. "If a doctor misdiagnoses the cause of an illness, the wrong treatment follows," he said. "How we interpret the judgment of the people is the crossroads that will determine whether our Democratic Party moves forward or not."

Asked when he would decide whether to run for party leader, Song said he would make up his mind after watching how Jung proceeds.

"What matters is not whether I become party leader, but how the Democratic Party heals from this wound, unites, and supports the Lee Jae Myung administration," he said. "The reason I am deliberating is that establishing a proper party-government relationship at the party convention is truly important."

Song also spoke about the broader role of the presidency. "The president's fundamental view is that he is a constitutional head of state representing all people of South Korea — not just those who supported him," he said. "Whether conservative or progressive, once someone becomes president they hold a constitutional position that requires uniting the entire nation. If the ruling party thinks only in terms of asserting its own identity, friction will follow. Harmonizing that well is the political skill of a ruling party leader, and trust and mutual communication between the party leader and the president are essential."

On Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who has been mentioned as a potential contender for the party leadership, Song offered a favorable assessment. "Prime Minister Kim has strongly supported President Lee Jae Myung and is a person of outstanding ability," he said. "He is someone who can communicate well with the president and is fully qualified to serve as party leader."

Asked about the prospect of an alliance with Kim in a three-way race involving Song, Kim and Jung, Song said the priority was not coalition-building but preventing internal conflict from escalating. "What is important is ensuring that intraparty tensions do not intensify excessively," he said. "The party convention should be a forum for discussing the success of the Lee Jae Myung administration and the party's future — not a mudslinging contest that digs up the past."

On the party's future direction, Song said the Democratic Party must broaden its appeal toward the center. "We need to expand our reach along a path of moderation, pragmatism and unity," he said. "Just as the president represents all citizens and not only his supporters, the party must also approach things from the perspective of unity."


jshan@heraldcorp.com