Remarks seen as targeting Kim Yong-min and Choo Mi-ae over criticism of Serious Crimes Investigation Agency chief nominee Kim Ji-yong

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks at the launch ceremony of the party's Animal Welfare Task Force at the National Assembly on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks at the launch ceremony of the party's Animal Welfare Task Force at the National Assembly on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok said Tuesday that ruling party lawmakers should raise concerns about presidential personnel decisions internally rather than airing them publicly.

Kim made the remarks during an appearance on "Minti07," a segment on the party's official YouTube channel Democratic Party TV, in response to a viewer comment asking whether Rep. Kim Yong-min should be removed from the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. "It is better to raise such concerns through internal channels as much as possible," Kim said.

He said the question appeared to be about prosecutorial reform and the nomination of Kim Ji-yong as head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, adding that it touched on how the ruling party should handle objections to the president's personnel authority.

The remarks were widely seen as directed at Rep. Kim Yong-min and Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, both of whom had publicly criticized the nomination. Kim said that when someone raises concerns about a candidate, those concerns sometimes turn out to be unfounded during the vetting process. "There are quite a few cases where things are based on mistaken rumors or unverified reputation," he said.

He said that while raising questions was legitimate given the responsibility to vet nominees, ruling party members needed to exercise greater caution. "It would be better to go through internal procedures," Kim said.

"If you bypass that process and immediately go public, how are you any different from the opposition?" he said. "You go through all of that, debate back and forth, and ultimately the person with appointment authority makes the final call. At that point, the decision reflects all the considerations and difficulties of the appointing authority, and it should be respected."

When the host noted that some viewers were calling on the party leadership to enforce discipline over members who had "crossed a clear line" on personnel matters, Kim said removing a lawmaker from a committee was one of several options that could be considered if their conduct was deemed inappropriate.

Kim also said that among the points raised at President Lee Jae Myung's press conference and by commentators afterward was a call to stop using derogatory terms and demeaning language in intraparty disputes. "There are also calls for people who have used certain expressions up to now to apologize," he said.

He added that he had observed derogatory terms being used between individuals and within certain online communities. "Tensions have built up on all sides, so this is a moment when we need to look at things from each other's perspective — and also check whether there is any fault on our own side," Kim said.

Asked about a comment by pro-government commentator Yoo Si-min, who likened certain figures to "pebbles in a shoe" politically isolating the president — and whether "pebbles" itself was a derogatory term — Kim said the line between a derogatory term and a rhetorical device was not always clear. "If someone feels mocked, they will call it mockery," he said. "But I hope everyone makes a little more effort to moderate and restrain themselves, seeing things from each other's point of view."


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