Yu Si-min's sharp words about President Lee draw muted response from party leader; US visa denial for defense committee chair stirs alliance concerns

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks with Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee during a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok speaks with Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee during a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

With the 100-day mark of Kim Min-seok's leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea approaching next month, a string of controversies inside and outside the party — on top of existing allegations over a mass membership drive by the Shincheonji religious group — has prompted political observers to say the party chief is navigating a period of simultaneous internal and external crises.

Kim appeared Thursday morning on the party's YouTube channel "Minti07," where he offered a measured response to a wave of criticism that writer Yu Si-min had directed at President Lee Jae Myung. "It is important to exercise restraint — to avoid responding to divisive language with more divisive language, and to keep such issues from escalating," Kim said, choosing words carefully.

Yu, one of the most prominent commentators aligned with the liberal camp, appeared on the YouTube channel "Park Si-young TV" on Wednesday and drew a pointed comparison. "The 'Yoon Suk Yeol beetle' dismantled its own house — and the current government and President Lee are doing exactly the same," Yu said, adding that if approval ratings continued to fall, "in an extreme case, Lee could fail to complete the term, like Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk Yeol."

Kim drew a line in response, saying it was not necessary "to comment on every remark" Yu makes. Kim did, however, push back on Yu's characterization of "Minti07" as "a broadcast aimed at dismantling the camp rather than uniting it," saying, "I don't think we need to view even this through a factional or partisan lens."

Criticism and concern over Yu's remarks spread quickly within the party. Assembly member Jeong Jin-uk wrote on Facebook that Yu's "barrage of words feels like a curse directed at himself — I can barely listen. It is heartbreaking." Assembly member Kim Yeong-jin, appearing on SBS Radio, said the remarks amounted to "going all out," while adding that Yu had "lived so long as a critic that the words come out harsh, but the true feelings are probably not like that."

Amid all this, political tensions intensified further after reports emerged that the United States had recently denied a visa to Assembly member Jin Seong-jun, the Democratic Party chair of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee — coming on the heels of a similar visa delay for Assembly member Jung Chung-rae.

Jin had written on Facebook that "the United States' denial of a visa to the defense committee chair of an allied nation's legislature disregards the standing of the Republic of Korea's National Assembly and undermines the mutual respect and trust that form the foundation of the South Korea-US alliance." Jin said the denial warranted "strong regret."

The opposition, meanwhile, seized on the episode to criticize the government's policy toward Washington. People Power Party Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook said at a Supreme Council meeting that the cancellation of Jin's planned visit to Hawaii was "an extremely serious problem in the South Korea-US relationship," adding that "the United States in fact uses this kind of approach to indirectly express dissatisfaction with an ally."

Reform Party Assembly member Lee Jun-seok wrote on Facebook that "the visa problems facing the two lawmakers are turning South Korea's standing within the alliance into a laughingstock." Independent Assembly member Han Dong-hoon also weighed in, saying, "Solving a problem starts with facing reality. The South Korea-US relationship is in a very serious state of crisis."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the US visa process for Jin had not yet concluded, and that it had "been in close communication with the US side and requested support in order to facilitate the smooth official travel of National Assembly members." The ministry added that details of the specific review were matters "the US side does not disclose, making it difficult for us to confirm them."


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