Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Beom-gye. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Beom-gye. [Yonhap]

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Beom-gye said Monday that former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and former party leader Song Young-gil would "cooperate at some point" after engaging in "good-faith competition" over party leadership.

Park made the remarks on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" that morning, describing the relationship between Kim and Song as a "good" one. Park has publicly declared his support for Kim as the next party leader.

"The two are very much aligned in that they share the view that the ruling party has a duty to actively support the president's governance — there is no disagreement on that at all," Park said. He added that a poll of the Honam region released Monday showed more than 60 percent of Song's supporters backed Kim.

The survey, commissioned by OhmyNews and conducted by polling firm STI on July 4 and 5, covered 1,001 men and women aged 18 and older residing in North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province and the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. Using an automated response system, it found that 61.3 percent of Song's supporters said they backed Kim. (For details, see the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.)

Asked whether the "certain point" at which the two might cooperate could come before the results of a first-round vote, Park said, "I think that's possible."

He went on to say, "For the future of the Democratic Party, for the future of South Korea, and for the success of the Lee Jae Myung government, I believe it is possible for the two of them to have a candid conversation before that."


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