Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok traveled to Andong, North Gyeongsang Province — the hometown of President Lee Jae Myung — on Wednesday to call for an accelerated push on police reform. The visit came after Lee instructed the prime minister's office Tuesday to consider establishing a police reform body, with the party moving to signal its support.
Speaking at a field supreme council meeting at the party's North Gyeongsang Province office in Andong, Kim said the party would "push ahead with police reform at the party level." He added that "the public and President Lee are of one mind in recognizing that police reform is critically important right now and in raising the issue," and said the Democratic Party would take charge of the effort.
Kim identified six systemic problems in police investigations that have drawn recent controversy: shielding fellow officers, burying cases, closing investigations without authorization, concealing or fabricating evidence, leaking investigative information, and violating personal privacy. As remedies, he proposed expanding external audits, tightening grounds for recusal from investigations, strengthening explanations provided to victims, and imposing stricter legal accountability for unlawful or negligent investigations.
On Tuesday, Kim formed an intraparty police reform task force and personally appointed Rep. Kim Nam-hee as its head. Kim said the party would "protect investigations that safeguard the people and resolutely reform investigative powers that infringe on their rights," adding that it would "strengthen democratic oversight of both prosecutors and police under the principle of popular sovereignty."
Kim also announced additional party appointments at the Andong field meeting. Rep. Kim Yong-man, who served as his close aide during the party leadership race, was named head of the newly created civil affairs office, while Kim said he would personally take on the role of party talent committee chair.
Kim said he would return to Andong, pledging to "come in person even on days when there is no supreme council meeting." Having promised during his leadership campaign to visit Andong immediately after taking office if elected, Kim used Wednesday's trip to signal his intent to address local issues directly and expand the Democratic Party's organizational footprint in the region.
Kim twice noted that Andong is President Lee's hometown, calling it "a city of special significance to our Democratic Party and its members, like Mokpo, Pohang, Bongwa and Pyeongsan." He also outlined plans to broaden the party's presence in constituencies outside the National Assembly's reach — including Andong, where the Democratic Party currently holds no sitting Assembly seat.
"Andong is a constituency where we have no sitting lawmaker, but we will come out actively to areas where we feel a sense of responsibility and act as a ruling party should," Kim said. "To fill the void left by the absence of an Assembly member in this region, we will meet with local community leaders and carry out a range of activities."
He went on to say the party should "review purchasing or leasing additional office space depending on local conditions, and consider setting up a second party office in areas where the existing office alone is insufficient given the size of the district — a space where residents can hold town hall meetings."
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