Opposition leader meetings set for Monday

Handshake policy signals break from predecessor

Kim Min-seok (center), leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Yonhap]
Kim Min-seok (center), leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Yonhap]

Since taking office, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok has moved quickly to assert discipline within the party while rolling out a stream of ideas and personally overseeing even the finer details of party affairs.

At a Supreme Council meeting Friday, Kim said meetings too often end after opening remarks without substantive discussion, and directed staff to set up a status board that would let leadership track the progress of issues discussed at the council at a glance.

He asked Secretary-General Han Jeong-ae to compile any agreements or directives from each meeting, share them with the entire party, and organize them so progress can be reviewed on a weekly basis.

The move marks a departure from the previous practice of leadership announcing positions to the press before settling party business in closed sessions. Kim signaled he intends to continuously monitor the implementation of major decisions and take swift follow-up action.

Kim also issued a series of directives on specific pending matters.

Regarding the 2026 Gangneung Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress, set to open in October, he asked that the event be added to Supreme Council members' schedules and said he would like a final review meeting held at the venue one to two weeks before the congress opens.

He instructed the congress support TF to prepare a briefing on the demand-responsive transit driverless vehicle system currently operating in Gangneung.

Kim also called for the party to make active use of its finances to support vulnerable regions ahead of the 2028 general election.

He proposed making party offices more accessible and suggested purchasing provincial and municipal party offices in each region, or establishing secondary party offices to divide responsibility over wide areas such as Gangwon Province. He added that the party should discuss efficient management options, including buying a party office in Gangwon Province as an asset or providing support to individual regional committees.

He also said the party would create a separate discussion body to address the activities of non-Assembly regional committee chairs, specific support measures for regional committees, and party reform issues including electoral law.

Kim is scheduled to meet People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on Monday. He is also pursuing plans to visit the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party and the Reform Party on the same day as courtesy calls.

His predecessor, Jung Chung-rae, had taken a harder line after being elected party leader at last year's national convention in August, declaring that "handshakes are for people" and demanding an apology over the emergency martial law crisis before any dialogue with the People Power Party.

Kim and the new leadership team are also working to arrange a dinner with President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday, in what would serve as a formal first meeting. The dinner is expected to include discussions on the future direction of party-government relations.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com