Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok and party leadership pose for a group photo at an on-site supreme council meeting held at Gangneung City Hall in Gangwon Province on Friday. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok and party leadership pose for a group photo at an on-site supreme council meeting held at Gangneung City Hall in Gangwon Province on Friday. [Yonhap]

The newly inaugurated leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea has been embroiled in internal conflict from the outset over the appointment of designated supreme council members. Analysts say competition has begun between the so-called "pro-Lee" faction — aligned with Lee Jae Myung — and the "pro-Jung" faction aligned with Jung Chung-rae, as both sides jockey for control ahead of the next general election.

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said Friday at an on-site supreme council meeting at Gangneung City Hall in Gangwon Province that he had hoped to fill the youth seat through a primary election as currently practiced, but that circumstances made it impossible, leaving him no choice but to make a direct appointment. He added that he would begin discussions on revising the party charter and rules so that youth and women could be fully represented at the next party convention.

On Thursday, Kim had appointed two-term lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi, in his 30s, to the designated youth seat on the supreme council, and Kwon Mi-gyeong, chairwoman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' National Public Solidarity Labor Union Federation, to the labor seat.

During the party convention, Kim had pledged to reserve one designated supreme council seat for youth and fill it through a "festival-style election," but concluded that holding a primary was not immediately feasible due to issues including voters holding dual party membership.

Article 26 of the Democratic Party's charter stipulates that designated supreme council members are appointed by the party leader, subject to approval by the supreme council and ratification by the party affairs committee. However, there is no explicit provision requiring the leader to consult with supreme council members before announcing an appointment.

Supreme council members aligned with the pro-Jung faction immediately pushed back publicly. Senior Supreme Council Member Choi Min-hee posted on Facebook shortly after the announcement, questioning whether proper votes could be taken in the future if a designated appointment — a matter requiring supreme council approval — was suddenly disclosed at a general assembly meeting without even minimal prior consultation.

At the Gangneung meeting Friday, however, Choi softened her criticism, saying she would hold Kim to his commitment to revise the party charter and rules.

While the immediate disagreement over the designated supreme council appointments appears to be settling for now, analysts say Kim's leadership could face a test at any time over key issues including additional personnel appointments and questions about the roles of supreme council members.


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