Song Young-gil: Jung led opposition to Korea-US FTA

Jung Chung-rae: I never claimed to be the 'legitimate heir'

Choi Min-hee: Did you lie to preempt an attack on PM Kim?

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Song Young-gil signs a guestbook after paying his respects at the tomb of former President Roh Moo-hyun at Bongha Village in Jinyeong-eup, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Song Young-gil signs a guestbook after paying his respects at the tomb of former President Roh Moo-hyun at Bongha Village in Jinyeong-eup, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

A three-way clash has broken out among the leading contenders for the Democratic Party of Korea's leadership ahead of its Aug. 17 national convention. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, lawmaker Song Young-gil and former party leader Jung Chung-rae are all vying for the chairmanship, and the gloves are off. As Jung courts supporters of the late presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in while targeting Kim, Song has moved to shield the prime minister by raising questions about Jung's record on Roh's funeral and the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.

Song posted on Facebook Tuesday under the headline "What does it truly mean to be Roh Moo-hyun's legitimate heir?" He wrote that when former President Roh pushed to conclude the Korea-US FTA, "most Democratic Party lawmakers fiercely opposed and criticized it — and Jung Chung-rae was at the forefront of that opposition." The post extended a line of attack Song had opened the previous day, when he claimed Jung had skipped Roh's funeral.

Song added that Roh had said progressive reformers could not become the mainstream of history unless they embraced trade liberalization head-on, and that he himself had "consistently supported former President Roh's push for the Korea-US FTA." The remarks were a pointed jab at Jung, who has long emphasized his roots as a member of Roh's fan club "Nosamo," while also burnishing Song's own claim to Roh's political legacy.

Jung fired back the same day. In his own Facebook post, he said he had "never once uttered even the first syllable of 'legitimate heir'" and that, as he had stated upon leaving the party leadership, his position was to carry forward the legacy of four presidents — Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae Myung. "I would ask that people stop playing along with a media framing that imagines and twists things I never said into 'he's not the legitimate heir,'" he said.

Supreme council candidates aligned with Jung also joined the fray. Rep. Choi Min-hee, a close ally of Jung, posted on Facebook: "Are you saying that even though you knew Jung attended the funeral, you lied in advance to warn him not to use it to attack Prime Minister Kim? And what exactly is 'it'?" — a sharp reference to Song's remark the previous day.

Choi's post targeted Song's statement that his intention had been to tell Jung "not to use that to attack Kim Min-seok" — widely interpreted as a reference to Kim's history of leaving the Millennium Democratic Party, the predecessor of today's Democratic Party, during the 2002 presidential election to back then-candidate Chung Mong-joon of the National Integration 21 party in a push for a single candidacy.

Song, however, drew a clear line against suggestions that he was merely playing the role of a pacemaker — attacking Jung on Kim's behalf — and made plain his intention to run the full course of the convention. In an interview with YTN Radio on Tuesday, he said that without a runoff system, questions of consolidation could arise, but that candidates were essentially "sitting a job interview" and that "the party members, as the ones with the hiring authority, will make the judgment."

Song also appeared intent on linking the pragmatism championed by President Lee Jae Myung to the legacy of Roh. He visited Roh's tomb at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday morning and wrote in the guestbook: "I will make the Lee Jae Myung government a success and protect it." Speaking to reporters afterward, he said the evidence-based politics of President Kim Dae-jung, Roh's push for the Korea-US FTA and Lee's pragmatic politics "form a continuous line." Accompanying Song on the visit were Kim Sang-uk, the mayor-elect of Ulsan, Incheon lawmakers Jeong Il-young and Heo Jong-sik, and Rep. Kim Young-ho, who has declared his candidacy for the supreme council.

Rep. Jeong Jin-uk, considered a pro-Lee supreme council contender, also weighed in Tuesday on KBS Radio, saying the president's vision was "national unity and a country where everyone moves forward together." He noted that Roh had built a naval base at Gangjeong Village, dispatched troops to Iraq and concluded the Korea-US FTA — drawing a parallel to Lee's own brand of pragmatic governance.


addressh@heraldcorp.com