Kim Min-seok, the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, pays his respects at the grave of late former President Kim Dae-jung at Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Kim Min-seok, the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, pays his respects at the grave of late former President Kim Dae-jung at Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Kim Min-seok, the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, launched a push for party unity Tuesday by visiting the grave of his "political mentor," the late former President Kim Dae-jung, on the 17th anniversary of the former president's death.

The visit to Seoul National Cemetery served as the new leadership's first official engagement. After paying his respects at the cemetery's memorial tower, Kim wrote in the guest book: "The Democratic Party will be the locomotive of South Korea's golden age." He then visited Kim Dae-jung's grave before attending a memorial ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of his death.

In his commemorative address, Kim said he was presenting himself as the party leader who had succeeded the former president, noting that he had once served as the junior chief of staff under him. "Those of us who study, deliberate, act with care, seek truth from facts, put the people's livelihoods first and pursue peace — we are all the president's disciples," he said.

A leading figure of the so-called "386 generation" — activists who were university students in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s — Kim entered politics in 1990 after being recruited by the late former president. He later served as chief of staff to Kim Dae-jung when he led the Millennium Democratic Party.

Kim also said the late former president had been instrumental in making the Park Chung-hee Memorial Library possible. "I know it would have been difficult for the Park Chung-hee Memorial Library to get off the ground without his help," he said. "He became a symbol of reconciliation and unity. Together with the people, we will honor and learn from him in a bipartisan spirit, transcending ideology."

The remarks signaled his intent to lead the party by carrying forward the "spirit of Kim Dae-jung" — centered on people's livelihoods, pragmatism and national unity.

Later Tuesday, Kim is scheduled to visit the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju. The trip to the Honam region — which delivered overwhelming support for him at the party convention — comes just one day after his election as party leader.

In the Honam rights-member vote at the convention, Kim secured a decisive advantage over rival lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, beating him by a margin of 24.89 percentage points.

On Wednesday, Kim plans to visit the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, and call on former President Moon Jae-in at his Pyeongsan Village residence in Yangsan, also in South Gyeongsang Province. The series of visits is widely interpreted as the start of a concerted effort to overcome the deep divisions within the party's support base that flared during the convention and to set the party on a path toward unity.


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