Song Young-gil Discusses Presidential Bid with President Lee; Plans Unification with PM Kim in Three-Way Race

Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil told President Lee during a dinner meeting that he plans to "go into the (party convention) race as part of a three-way structure and eventually unify with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, creating a result where (votes) converge in the runoff," according to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jie-won on Wednesday (the 24th).

Lawmaker Park revealed this during an interview on CBS Radio today, stating that he heard this during a phone call with former leader Song the previous day.

When asked by the host if this meant former leader Song had discussed his decision to run in the party convention with the President, Park replied, "Yes, that's right." He added, "When I asked him what the President said, he told me the President responded positively, saying something like, 'Do a good job.'"

It is reported that former leader Song had a private dinner with President Lee at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, last week.

"This made me think that former leader Song could actually become the party leader," Park said. "I felt that former leader Song's honest expression was that he doesn't know what the outcome will be if it goes to a three-way race."

The party convention to elect the new leader is scheduled for August 17.

With current leader Jung expected to seek a consecutive term, there are predictions that Prime Minister Kim and former leader Song may form an alliance, setting the stage for a contest between the pro-Jung faction and the non-mainstream pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) faction.

Prime Minister Kim is expected to return to Yeouido after the National Assembly confirmation process for Prime Minister nominee Han Sung-sook, including her hearing on the 25th and 26th, is completed.

Former leader Song, who left for a visit to the United States the previous day, is expected to announce his position on running for the party convention after his return, likely toward the end of this month.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.