Democratic Party leader pushes back on report he flagged concerns about minister nominee to Lee Jae Myung

Song Young-gil joins criticism of Han, saying he 'cannot shed his special prosecutor identity'

Cho Kuk's apology demand met with 'no reason to apologize'

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks at a Supreme Council meeting held at Inspire Resort in Yeongjong-gu, Incheon, on Aug. 28. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks at a Supreme Council meeting held at Inspire Resort in Yeongjong-gu, Incheon, on Aug. 28. [Yonhap]

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok on Tuesday took direct aim at independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who has been raising daily allegations against Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, calling him a "childish attention-seeker." Kim also denied reports that he had conveyed negative public sentiment about Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in to President Lee Jae Myung.

Appearing on "Minti07," a program on the Democratic Party's official YouTube channel "Democratic Party TV," Kim criticized Han as "a childish attention-seeker who tries to grab attention by any means necessary, only to shoot himself in the foot."

Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil, who appeared alongside Kim, also weighed in on Han, saying he "seems to be struggling to make his presence felt because he cannot shed his special prosecutor identity and finds himself isolated."

Song questioned how Han had obtained recordings related to the Kim Seung-won nomination, arguing that if Han had acquired them during his time as justice minister, releasing them would constitute criminal conduct — including violations of personal data protection law and the crime of disclosing facts under investigation.

Song added that watching Han release the recordings piece by piece, Han would be better off "not serving as a lawmaker and instead joining Kim Se-eui and Kang Yong-seok at Gaseyon" — referring to the YouTube channel Gaseyon, or Garosero Research Institute — "where he could make far more money collecting super chats."

Kim denied reports that he had relayed negative public sentiment about the Yong nomination to President Lee. Earlier reports had claimed that Kim, during a visit to Seoul Airport on Sunday to see the president off on a state trip to France, had conveyed concerns about Yong to Lee.

"The specific claim that I told the president such things at Seoul Airport is a misreport," Kim said. "Everyone already knows there are various opinions inside and outside the party, and I can certainly summarize those views when speaking with him." He added that "the claim that I delivered such a message at the airport does not reflect the facts."

Kim also distanced himself from a demand by Cho Kuk, head of the Rebuilding Korea Party's innovation policy institute, who had set a formal apology from certain Democratic Party figures for attacks against him as a basic condition for merger talks.

"I am not quite sure what he is referring to," Kim said. "The situation right now is not one where a merger is a given — it is one where a merger or an alliance are both possible options." When asked whether he was saying he had no reason to apologize because the demand came as news to him, Kim replied, "Yes."

Song also said, "This is not the time to be saying such things." He argued that the focus should be on battles like the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, adding that "if you speak at the wrong time and place, your words will inevitably be interpreted differently from what you intended."


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