KOR-Criminal justice system in deep turmoil, yet she obstructs launch of Major Crimes Investigation Agency
-Impure acts to bolster political standing... Lee was right to appoint Kim Ji-yong
-Sniping at predecessor as well... Choo as presidential nominee? Conservatives welcome it
-'Angry' No. 2 is Trump... Forcing excessive US investment on South Korea
-Security concerns are grave... Chung Dong-young and Lee Jong-suk fail to hold working-level consultations
-Anger at Lee as well... Ambiguous management of neighboring powers causes crack in South Korea-US alliance
-Overhaul diplomatic and security lineup to send a signal to the US
-'Golf diplomacy' is also important... Opposition should stop picking fights over Lee's golf practice
-Opposition's emerging hard-liners? May build their personal image during parliamentary audit
-Doesn't help the party... Dignity to gain trust from moderates is crucial
■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 – 9:00 AM)
■ Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Kim Sung-tae, Former People Power Party Lawmaker
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Who made him angry today, and over what issue? Meeting him on Wednesday, it's "Angry Sung-tae," former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sung-tae. Welcome.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Hello. I'm Kim Sung-tae.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Who made you angry today, Mr. Kim?
▶Kim Sung-tae: There are quite a few this time.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Aren't there always many?
▶Kim Sung-tae: That's why, without focusing too much on just one person, I'll go through them fairly quickly. The first is definitely Choo Mi-ae.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae? Why?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Look at her record. When she was Minister of Justice during the Moon Jae-in administration, she vowed to see through the complete removal of the prosecution's investigative authority. In doing so, Choo was the number-one contributor who virtually turned then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol into a president for the conservative camp.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: The mother of conservatives.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes. The eternal mother of conservatives.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Eternal?
▶Kim Sung-tae: It was good that she contributed to our conservative camp regaining power five years after President Park Geun-hye, earning her the title of mother of conservatives, but...
▷Kim Tae-hyun: From the conservative camp's perspective.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes. But looking at the reality South Korea faces today, the prosecution is being dismantled after 78 years, and we are now under a system of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Indictment Agency that is causing immense turmoil in the criminal justice system, aren't we?
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Even if this gets off to a normal start and the system is properly established and operational, there is enormous concern over where loopholes and blind spots might appear, whether it could become a breeding ground for criminals, and how many innocent citizens might end up as victims.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
▶Kim Sung-tae: In spite of that, when the government was trying to appoint the head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency—nothing less—I think President Lee Jae-myung made the right judgment call. The prosecution's investigative capabilities built over 78 years...
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Because those must be transferred to the Major Crimes Investigation Agency.
▶Kim Sung-tae: The Major Crimes Investigation Agency must take that over. Furthermore, it is an agency tasked with handling seven major categories of serious crimes. Yet look at how she opposes Kim Ji-yong solely because the head of that agency comes from the prosecution, served in the prosecution alongside Yoon Suk Yeol, and was one of the prosecutors who objected when she sought to discipline Yoon during her tenure as Justice Minister. Someone who should be dedicated to governing Gyeonggi Province is instead using such political acts to position herself against President Lee Jae-myung and solidify her standing as the next standard-bearer among hard-liners in the Democratic Party. Her motives are impure.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So in the end, Governor Choo is doing this to appeal to hard-line supporters and run in the next presidential election?
▶Kim Sung-tae: I've already laid it out. There are multiple motives. There is a mindset of seeking payback until the very end against anyone who caused the slightest inconvenience or defied her when she was Justice Minister. And toward President Lee Jae-myung, she is essentially rebelling and protesting, saying, "Why are you appointing this kind of person? Back when I was Justice Minister, I fought so hard against Yoon Suk Yeol's prosecution to strip their investigative powers—how is this prosecutorial reform?"
▷Kim Tae-hyun: If current Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae becomes the Democratic Party's final presidential nominee in the next election, is that a welcome development for the conservative camp, or is it bad news?
▶Kim Sung-tae: For me, it's very welcome.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Why?
▶Kim Sung-tae: She has always rendered great service to our conservative camp.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Is that so?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So you think it would be great if Governor Choo becomes the Democratic Party nominee. Do you think there is a possibility of that happening?
▶Kim Sung-tae: In terms of policy, Gyeonggi Province's current debt ratio is actually only 12.86%. In Seoul's case, it exceeds 20%. So in terms of debt ratio, it should be regarded as fairly sound fiscal management. Yet she insisted on calling it a mass of festering rot. If you look at her predecessors, who comes before Kim Dong-yeon?
▷Kim Tae-hyun: The president.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Isn't it President Lee Jae-myung? A governor who goes so far as to distinguish herself from her predecessors just to make herself stand out politically—from the opposing camp's perspective, she looks admirable.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Welcome? Admirable?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes. That's one way to look at it.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: But realistically, do you think she can make it? The presidential election is still a long way off, though.
▶Kim Sung-tae: It is a long way off. But the problem is that in the Democratic Party camp, individuals who act like that have ended up taking party leadership or becoming presidential candidates.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: The person who strongly appeals to the hard-core base ultimately wins?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Even President Lee Jae-myung is trying hard to change now, attempting to lead state affairs as a centrist-pragmatic administration and usher in an era of national unity, but it's not easy. Why isn't it working? It's karma, sheer karma. During his time as mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province—especially as mayor of Seongnam—rather than focusing purely on municipal administration, he was more actively engaged in the Gwanghwamun candlelight rallies against the Park Geun-hye administration and launched unspeakable political attacks against former President Park. So they think, "If you could do it, why can't I?" That's Jung Chung-rae, and that's Choo Mi-ae.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: I see. That's why you referred to it as the president's karma.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: And you mentioned there is another person who made you angry.
▶Kim Sung-tae: That angry target is President Trump.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: President Trump?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes. South Korea is a small country where people worked sleepless nights and worked really hard to become one of the world's top 10 economic powerhouses and achieve decent living standards. Yet he is extracting astronomical investments in the United States from such a South Korea. Even with Alaska, they unilaterally announced that South Korea agreed to make an astronomical investment in building an LNG terminal. And there's shipbuilding, nuclear power plants, and so much more. While drawing huge US investments as his personal accomplishments, on the other hand, he engages in political actions that can generate immense security concerns for South Korea.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: President Trump.
▶Kim Sung-tae: That's right. Just a few months ago, he said North Korea's Kim Jong Un had something like 57 nuclear missiles, and then recently he said 112. That means the South Korean public is living with North Korea's nuclear weapons hanging over their heads. While he speaks so casually about it, South Korea does not possess nuclear weapons based on the South Korea-US alliance precisely because of the US strategic nuclear assets, doesn't it? Because nuclear weapons must be countered with nuclear weapons.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
▶Kim Sung-tae: In that regard, from President Trump's perspective—and of course, at times like this, people like South Korea's Minister Chung Dong-young and NIS Director Lee Jong-suk should be having smooth working-level consultations and working effectively with their US security counterparts. But a hole has opened up here. In my view, our side provided the pretext. Sharing of North Korea intelligence has effectively been suspended for months now. Even if such a massive security crisis arises, I don't think it is right for the US president to put South Korea in such a dire situation solely for his own political gain.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: But the problem is, no matter how angry we get at President Trump, there is nothing we can do about him.
▶Kim Sung-tae: We can't do anything.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: With domestic politicians, we can at least vote against them in elections to defeat them, but with him, we can't do anything.
▶Kim Sung-tae: That is why the final target of my anger today is President Lee Jae-myung.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: A neatly structured three-stage argument.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes. Yesterday, President Lee Jae-myung addressed the situation regarding Minister Chung Dong-young and NIS Director Lee Jong-suk...
▷Kim Tae-hyun: You mean what the president said: "In relations between nations, we must avoid submissive or flunkeyist attitudes"?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Must avoid. At yesterday's Cabinet meeting, he said, "It is natural for differences to exist between nations," and made that point. He said, "South Korea's diplomatic policy is pragmatic diplomacy based on national interest." Up to that point, fine.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's right.
▶Kim Sung-tae: He also said the South Korea-US alliance is very important. But then he said, "On the other hand, we must still manage our relations well with neighboring powers surrounding us." That sounds rather ambiguous, and the United States is considerably concerned about this.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Because of China and Russia.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Exactly. Beyond debates between the ruling and opposition parties over whether there are cracks in South Korea-US relations, there is clearly a clash within the government's diplomatic and security lineup between the so-called autonomist faction and the pro-alliance faction, as seen in the National Security Council.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
▶Kim Sung-tae: In that sense, I didn't like how President Lee Jae-myung stepped in yesterday to referee this issue.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Then, by saying he stepped in to referee...
▶Kim Sung-tae: If right now...
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Wait, Mr. Kim, by saying he stepped in to referee, you believe the president sided with the autonomist faction amid the conflict between autonomists and pro-alliance figures?
▶Kim Sung-tae: That is how I see it.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Meaning there will definitely be no dismissal of NIS Director Lee Jong-suk or Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yesterday, what did the members of our National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee do in the US? They conducted a parliamentary audit yesterday with Ambassador to the US Kang Kyung-wha seated before them.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's right.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha herself said she is frustrated to death because communication with high-level US officials is completely blocked right now.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: That communication with the White House isn't going well.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Never mind Trump, she can't make contact with high-ranking officials at the US State Department or senior aides in the White House, so she says she's frustrated to death. Meanwhile, cracks keep widening in the actual security alliance between South Korea and the US. In the security and counterintelligence sectors, regarding North Korea intelligence sharing, the US pushback is so strong that it causes us serious concern.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
▶Kim Sung-tae: In that regard, who could object to the diplomatic principle of prioritizing national interest? The problem is that the discord between the two nations has gone beyond typical disagreements and reached an extraordinarily unusual and worrying state.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Then are you saying that to resolve this, the president must dismiss Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and NIS Director Lee Jong-suk?
▶Kim Sung-tae: I believe that Democratic Party senior Park Ji-won should lay the groundwork for this. After all, he has unmatched political experience, seasoned wisdom, and depth, having served as presidential chief of staff and NIS director—there's almost nothing he hasn't done.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Lawmaker Park Ji-won.
▶Kim Sung-tae: He understands US relations. When relations with the US become difficult and tangled like this, people typically hesitate to speak frankly to President Trump or President Lee Jae-myung. At times like this, you need to completely reshuffle the diplomatic and security lineup. That sends a signal to the United States: "We are presenting a new lineup before you to resolve the complicated issues between us, so let's have a proper discussion now." After doing that, he should play golf with Trump at the end of the year. I don't think our People Power Party lawmakers need to pick so much of a fight over President Lee Jae-myung practicing golf right now.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Representative Joo Jin-woo?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Whoever he meets.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Representative Joo Jin-woo is pushing for a special counsel investigation into the golf issue.
▶Kim Sung-tae: I don't want to name anyone specifically. But from Trump's perspective, he's someone who boasts about playing at single-digit handicaps all the time, and if President Lee Jae-myung and his wife go there with terrible golf skills, wouldn't he look down on them?
▷Kim Tae-hyun: You have to match his score, so practicing is necessary.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Exactly, he has to match his score. In that respect, President Lee Jae-myung also considers a golf meeting with Trump to be extremely important. They even set up a preparation team.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: That is truly important.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Just as he considers that important, his aides need to realize something—especially Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who gave the US a pretext by publicly mentioning the nuclear processing facility in Kusong, North Pyongan Province. Yet this person still has no intention of changing. In that sense, President Lee Jae-myung must make a decisive move when it's time to decide.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Clean house?
▶Kim Sung-tae: Exactly. Minister Chung in particular views himself as the heir to DJ's (Kim Dae-jung's) Sunshine Policy and holds an arrogant, self-righteous security perspective. This completely provides the pretext for serious cracks in the South Korea-US alliance.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: You're saying he should listen to Representative Park Ji-won's advice.
▶Kim Sung-tae: That's right. DJ's Sunshine Policy never compromised the foundation of the South Korea-US alliance. But now, this person who claims to be the heir to the Sunshine Policy seems to place himself above the president in the Lee Jae-myung administration. Even after an egregious provocation where North Korea planted landmines on our side of the MDL that severed our soldier's ankle, how can a minister who fails to determine that as a North Korean attack talk with the US security team at the NSC?
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Lastly, Mr. Kim, I'm not sure if this next one is an "angry" or "happy" topic.
▶Kim Sung-tae: I've gotten angry so many times today that I don't know either.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: The junior People Power Party lawmakers you cherish—the trio of freshman lawmakers acting as new attack dogs against the ruling camp: Representative Kim Tae-gyu, Representative Lee Jin-sook, and Representative Joo Jin-woo. They've been in the spotlight a lot lately. Are they attacking the ruling camp effectively? When you see these three, do you feel angry or happy?
▶Kim Sung-tae: During the parliamentary audit period, it's a time when all 300 lawmakers build their political image.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's true.
▶Kim Sung-tae: The parliamentary audit is also the opposition party's time. In that setting, building their personal political image is fine, but ultimately, the People Power Party, as the stronghold of conservatives and a party aspiring to govern, must achieve a change of administration in 2030. In that regard, if they engage in political actions that cater excessively only to their hard-core base, they need to think carefully about whether we can secure trust as a party that appeals to Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and to moderates and non-affiliated voters.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Looking at their constituencies, they are Busan Haeundae, Ulsan Nam-gu, and Daegu Dalseong.
▶Kim Sung-tae: They are all in Yeongnam.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: All favorable conservative districts.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So for them personally, that may be fine. But what about the actions of these three, their attacks against the ruling party? Since you represented the capital region in Gangseo, overall, does this do more good or harm to the People Power Party? Looking at the party as a whole. They do it because it benefits them personally, presumably.
▶Kim Sung-tae: From their personal perspective, I said they are building their political image. That may be so, but the party needs the dignity of the main opposition party that restores public trust, and conservatives are a competent political group with over 50 years of governing experience. As a competent political group, whether this highly enthusiastic legislative activity they are conducting during the parliamentary audit will be of great help requires a bit of political experience to judge.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So is it a net positive or a net negative?
▶Kim Sung-tae: In my view, if it continues like this, it won't be of much help. If people like this multiply to 10 or 100, our arguments risk being confined to those of a regional Yeongnam party.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: And face annihilation again in the capital region in the next general election? If it keeps going this way.
▶Kim Sung-tae: When President Lee Jae-myung misses opportunities and the Democratic Party, with its overwhelming legislative power, routinely engages in unilateralism and tyranny, the People Power Party must stand as a more upright opposition party, continually striving for self-cleansing, change, and innovation.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: You should be the interim leadership chairman of the People Power Party or something.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Even if it were a possibility, Anchor Kim Tae-hyun shouldn't say things like that.
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Really? Understood. That wraps it up for today. This was former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sung-tae.
▶Kim Sung-tae: Thank you.
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※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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