Ruling Party Elder Yoo In-tae Says Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik Was 'Wrong'—And Offers Blunt Assessment of Party Leadership Candidates

[Joo Young-jin's News Briefing]

When quoting this interview, please cite the program name 'SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing>'. Copyright belongs to SBS.

■ Broadcast: SBS <Joo Young-jin's News Briefing> Mon–Fri (14:00–15:20)
■ Host: Anchor Joo Young-jin
■ Guest: Yoo In-tae, former Secretary General of the National Assembly
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● Interview with Former National Assembly Secretary General Yoo In-tae

"DP: 'A party leader who clashes with the president poses high risk' is prevailing opinion"
"Jung Chung-rae has leaned hardline; doesn't seem to be on the reasonable side"
"Kim Min-seok doesn't look mature... needs to change campaign strategy"
"Song Young-gil has roots in the party... has fewer flaws than Jung Chung-rae or Kim Min-seok"
"In the current DP, appealing to hardline supporters is key"
"Rhyu Si-min says it's out of loyalty, but expressions go too far... doubtful how well it will resonate"
"Jeong Seong-ho must have found it pathetic to see the party dragged by hardline supporters"
"The current electoral system is the worst... no room for a third party"
"Cho Jeong-sik should have cut off the 'consecutive terms' question cleanly... he misspoke"
"The more President Lee clings to 'dismissal of indictments,' the more uncomfortable his term will become"

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▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: The Democratic Party's national convention is now about 20 days away. Which politician will become the new leader of the Democratic Party? It is closely linked to the future power structure of the ruling camp, so many reporters are covering it intensely. We have invited a special guest today to ask about these burning questions. Former National Assembly Secretary General Yoo In-tae is here with us. Welcome.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Hello.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: How have you been? You still do broadcast interviews occasionally.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Occasionally, yes.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Let me ask you straight out. Who do you think will become the next Democratic Party leader?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: It's been a long time since I left the party, so I only hear about current affairs secondhand. Coincidentally, I had lunch today with several standing advisors to the party, and everyone lamented, "There is really no one to vote for." Usually, when candidates run for leadership, people weigh who is better or have preferences. But the sentiment of "there's really no one to vote for" was dominant. Still, with the president barely a year into his term, wouldn't it pose a much bigger risk if someone who clashes with the president becomes leader? They might not like the candidate backed by the pro-president side either, but those kinds of arguments seemed more prevalent.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Former Senior Secretary Yoo, since you are known for speaking your mind without holding back, let me ask you this. There are three candidates, right? You know them all well. Earlier, you suggested that having someone who clashes with the president might be problematic, and candidate Jung Chung-rae is currently being analyzed by the media as that kind of figure, also facing criticism for pursuing his own political agenda. So what do you think of candidate Jung Chung-rae? As the politician Jung Chung-rae whom you have observed over the years?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: He is someone who has always rushed toward hardline positions.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Hardline.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Yes.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Have you rarely seen him compromise?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Anyway, looking back at him during his first term in parliament...

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Uri Party.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Even during the National Security Act debate in the Uri Party days—when Rhyu Si-min and others were involved—you didn't get the feeling that he was a reasonable person. Just a feeling of pushing relentlessly hard.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Ultra-hardline Jung Chung-rae.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Exactly.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Candidate Kim Min-seok went through a period of hardship lasting well over 10 years, nearly 20 years. He admits himself that it was due to his own choices. How do you view him? He even served as the first Prime Minister of the current administration.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: But didn't he become supreme council member and prime minister because President Lee Jae-myung picked him? Back during the party convention, too. His roots in the party are actually weak.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: That's right, because he was away for a long time.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: He was away. Anyway, it seems he gained considerable trust from the president just by getting that martial law prediction right, but looking at his primary campaign lately, he doesn't look very mature.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Is it because of Shincheonji?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: No, he was far ahead in the beginning. And anyone can see he is perceived as the candidate backed by the president, right? Then he should act with a bit more composure. But seeing what he does, he acts like a trailing candidate with his expressions, whereas he should show a broad-minded attitude that embraces others. There are still about 20 days left, right? Since it's starting now, he needs to change. It feels like he keeps chipping away at his own votes.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: What about candidate Song Young-gil? He has already served as party leader once, served time in prison, and went through tough times recently.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Actually, among the three, he is the guy with the fewest flaws compared to those two.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: You see it that way? Why do you think so?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: The other two have many flaws and couldn't build their own factions. Even now, Jung Chung-rae is piggybacking, right? He's riding on Kim Ou-joon and Rhyu Si-min's side, and Kim Min-seok would have found it difficult to get this far on his own strength if the president hadn't given him such backing. But Song served as party leader, and back during the Moon Jae-in administration, he even beat the candidate from the so-called mainstream to become leader. That shows how deep his roots in the party are.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Looking at opinion polls and such right now, there's a sense that he is trailing compared to the other two candidates.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Because the state of the party has turned out that way. Getting recognition from party elders or people like that is completely useless now. What matters is appealing to hardline supporters, and among hardline supporters, a candidate who goes to extremes appeals to quite a few. But originally, President Lee Jae-myung made it this far precisely because of those zealous supporters, didn't he?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Do you agree with the expression "New Lee Jae-myung," referring to those who support President Lee Jae-myung? Do you see them as new, different party members and supporters compared to traditional Democratic Party members?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: That's how we have to see it.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Then do you agree with the thoughts and analysis in author Rhyu Si-min's recent media interviews, which he's been doing back-to-back? Or are you skeptical?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: He came to the judgment that if things continue in the direction President Lee Jae-myung is thinking, retaining power will be difficult and the next general election will be in jeopardy, so he is giving a strong warning to President Lee Jae-myung. Saying, "You need to change your current stance and direction. Otherwise, it's dangerous." He says it out of loyalty, but even so, using expressions like "rotten smell" or "inevitable defeat" toward a president who has barely served a year with nearly four years left in office... It's not as if he's messing everything else up. He is doing well on administration and policy. But saying things like that to him—I wonder how effective that will be.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Why do you think author Rhyu Si-min is doing that?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: As I mentioned earlier, he probably gave some advice based on his view. But when he sees the president not listening much and stubbornly sticking to his own way, thinking, "If he goes on like that, it's ruin," isn't that why he behaves like that?

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: The intent for political realignment—aren't the public very negative about artificial political realignment? Historically, political realignments in politics meant things like poaching lawmakers from the opposition. Have you heard anything about President Lee Jae-myung and those at the core believing that political realignment is inevitable and necessary?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Well, I haven't heard of that.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Didn't author Rhyu Si-min mention that?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: But how could there be a political realignment here right now? It makes no sense. For example, if the current electoral system allowed a multi-party system and there were a third party, and since the People Power Party goes too far to the extreme, if there were a third party closer to the center that could dialogue better than them, then political realignment might be possible. But who would they align with, with whom? I don't understand political realignment in this context at all.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Author Rhyu Si-min said he heard it, saying that they wanted an extension but would fail at reconstruction. Didn't he say something like that?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: In his own way, he seems deeply concerned. And in fact, we also view the late Lee Hae-chan, Rhyu Si-min, and Kim Ou-joon as the top key figures behind creating this administration. We acknowledge that. When we gather among ourselves, we used to talk about whether they were the power behind the throne of this administration, but it seems he isn't listening well to them. That's why he probably sees it as most dangerous.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Understood. Not listening well. You know Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho well, right?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: I know him somewhat.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: You hold him in good regard, right?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Yes. He is an upright person.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: News broke that he suddenly offered his resignation, and he is being very cautious. Did you see his response to Lawmaker Park Jie-won's question at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee yesterday?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Yes, I saw it.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: "New wine in new wineskins," "I am in too much pain, my health is bad."

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: But those reporters who spoke earlier probably heard more than I did, though talk about that has been going around for a long time—that he would step down soon. In any case, seeing the party being dragged around by hardline supporters like this must have looked truly pathetic even to Minister Jeong Seong-ho.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: If Minister Jeong Seong-ho returns to the party, I wonder if it will be easily reshaped, with a new leader, and what role he could play after returning.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Where are senior figures these days? Whoever caters to hardline supporters is the strong one now. Isn't that right? That's the state of the party.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Hardline supporters.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: The other side goes without saying, and it's the exact same here.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: The fact that this phenomenon keeps showing up in both major parties—is politics increasingly heading that way? Will it be even more so in the future?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: If we keep this system as it is... Furthermore, previously there were parties like the Democratic Labor Party, the Justice Party, and at one point Ahn Cheol-soo...

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: The People's Party.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: ...who went and almost swept Honam, taking tens of seats. Then there was compromise and mediation between parties—that's how the National Assembly originally functioned. But damn it, after working hard to create the mixed-member proportional representation system, they created satellite parties, making it the worst electoral system now. Where can a third party gain a foothold? They call the Rebuilding Korea Party a third party, but it was formed through "DP for constituency, RKP for proportional list"—what kind of third party is that? It's a party that formed because they asked voters to vote for the DP in constituencies and give proportional votes to them, claiming they were treated too harshly, especially winning in Honam. So in the next election, an electoral system allowing a multi-party system must be introduced. Under the current system, a majority party always emerges. This time, a difference of about 5.6% led to a gap of over 60 seats. This shows how problematic the current electoral system is in terms of proportionality. Suppose any party leads by just 2 to 3% in the next general election. In the past, with that margin and a third party around—was it during the 19th Assembly? A gap of twenty-some seats, 122 seats, like that.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: During Speaker Chung Sye-kyun's tenure.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: If that happens, one party cannot do everything on its own.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Right. 123 to 122.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: They had to compromise anyway. So back then, policies and bills were passed mostly through ruling-opposition compromise. But in the next general election, if any party leads by just 2%, under this system they will probably lead by 20 to 30 seats. Then they will try to do whatever they want. Politics will completely disappear, and what will happen to the country if things go on like that? So unless the current electoral system is changed, the future of this country's politics is bleak.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Listening to you, former Senior Secretary, it seems there are far too many politicians saying, "If only I can get nominated, if you give me nomination, I'll take the lead as a sniper or attack dog." Is that what your concerns and worries are about?

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Exactly.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: And for such people to get nominated, the voices of hardline party members become too loud, and those people get nominated after promising loyalty, leading to politics not for the public. Understood. Today, Speaker Cho Jeong-sik brought up constitutional revision—it seems natural for a Speaker to mention constitutional revision, and many agree now is the right time and that revision is needed—but regarding the extension of the president's term, he said public opinion as the sovereign people is important, sparking analysis that he left the door open. Earlier, journalists Sung Han-yong and Hu Min said Speaker Cho Jeong-sik misspoke.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: He was wrong.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: He should have cut that off.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: He should have cut that off cleanly. The Constitution stipulates that an amendment does not apply to the incumbent president anyway.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Article 128, Paragraph 2.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: So he should have said it makes no sense—I'm about to curse again.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Since Speaker Cho Jeong-sik said that, speculation and analysis will arise about whether there was an intention or prior coordination.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: Rumors are circulating lately about a constitutional amendment for consecutive terms and so on. Even at lunch today with several party standing advisors, when someone mentioned such rumors circulating, everyone said in unison, "Does that make any sense? Nonsense." That's how we view that part. How could they allow consecutive terms? However, regarding the dismissal of indictments, it seems the president might still cling to some lingering hope. But is that really achievable? He should cleanly give up on lingering hopes for dismissing indictments and aim to resolve the issue through winning another term for the party at the end of his presidency. If he fixates on achieving that during his current term, I believe his presidency will only become more uncomfortable.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: Understood. The Democratic Party standing advisors you met today share similar views.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: The same story, everyone thinks the same.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: We will invite you back when the Democratic Party convention gets closer.

▶ Yoo In-tae / Former Secretary General of the National Assembly: I came today out of old acquaintance; I won't come back. Today is it.

▷ Joo Young-jin / Anchor: I will request again when the time comes. Thank you very much for your insights today.

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