Forget Rhyu Si-min's ABC... Kim Min-seok's 'ABC Plan'

Kim Min-seok, the new leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, began his first day in office this morning by paying respects at the Seoul National Cemetery. Six months after stating "becoming party leader is a romantic dream" when he was prime minister in February, and 24 years after wandering in the political wilderness following his departure from the Democratic Party in 2002, he finally realized his dream. In the cemetery's guest book, Kim wrote, "The Democratic Party will become the locomotive of the Republic of Korea's golden age."

As the leader of the ruling party, Kim laid out three action plans in his acceptance speech yesterday on how he will lead this golden age: "politics of livelihood and making ends meet, big and broad additive politics, and competent politics"—the "ABC Plan" standing for "Affordability, Broad, and Competence" in English.
The first "A" of the ABC Plan, "politics of livelihood (affordability)," means making housing costs, consumer prices, and living expenses manageable for the public in policy terms. The first affordability issue Kim is expected to face will likely be the government's real estate tax reform proposal. A high-level consultation meeting between the party, the government, and the presidential office has already been scheduled for this coming Sunday (the 23rd), the first under Kim's leadership.

At this meeting, the issue of reforming the special deduction for long-term holding for non-resident single-home owners—about which Kim expressed concern toward the end of the national convention—is likely to be brought up. On social media on August 14, Kim stated, "Abolishing the holding deduction for non-resident single-home owners in capital gains tax has an aspect of effectively raising taxes on non-resident single-home owners with properties valued at over 1.2 billion won." He added, "Concerns have been raised that it could cause side effects, such as forcing tenants to vacate," effectively calling for a reconsideration.

In recent opinion polls, the president's approval rating has shown a downward trend, particularly in the Seoul metropolitan area and among people in their 20s and 30s, with respondents citing the current administration's real estate policies as the reason. For Kim, who has pledged to support the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration, this will be a test to demonstrate his policy mediation skills. If the government's proposal aims to curb speculative long-term holding benefits, the party must present specific criteria to distinguish speculative non-residence from unavoidable non-residence, and more broadly, propose solutions to prevent growing instability in the rental market. Representative Song Young-gil, a pro-Lee figure and rival in the convention, also pointed out, "The presidential approval rating is falling because of mishandling real estate," adding, "Comprehensive real estate tax and capital gains tax on one home per household only amount to 1 trillion won, so why risk everything over 1 trillion won?"

Given that public sentiment on real estate has historically been an Achilles' heel for the Democratic Party in elections, observers note this is directly linked to the confidence vote criteria Kim himself put forward. At a joint speech session for the Gangwon regional primary on August 9, Kim stated, "Next year's Gangneung parliamentary by-election and the Seoul mayoral election are practically set. If elected party leader, I will win the Seoul mayoral election, achieve the best possible result in the Gangneung by-election, and ask party members for a vote of confidence based on those results." Along with economic issues, another challenge Kim faces is follow-up legislation for the Criminal Procedure Act amendment. On July 31, a bill aimed at abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative authority passed the National Assembly plenary session, and there are as many as 134 related bills requiring follow-up legislation. Despite self-praise within the Democratic Party calling it an "improved Criminal Procedure Act," the legal community as well as pro-government civic groups are urging complementary legislation.

Before running in the national convention, Kim oversaw the Task Force on Prosecution Reform for more than eight months as prime minister. At the time, Prime Minister Kim did not introduce a separate government bill and maintained a stance of respecting National Assembly discussions, which led to a debate with candidate Jung Chung-rae during the party convention over "who was more at fault." Regarding the failure to submit a government proposal, Park Chan-un, former head of the advisory committee for the Task Force on Prosecution Reform, criticized it as "the disappearance of accountable politics."
Now, as the leader of the ruling party, Kim must answer the following questions: how to check an increasingly bloated police investigation, where victims can turn when appealing against inadequate investigations, and how to prevent investigative agencies from passing cases back and forth, thereby increasing legal costs for victims. The Busan roundhouse kick assault case is a prominent example where the victim appealed the possibility of a sex crime, but it was not adequately addressed in initial investigations; it was only through prosecutors' additional forensic analysis and supplementary investigation during the appellate trial that attempted rape-murder charges were recognized. The ruling party must demonstrate practical measures so crime victims can be protected more quickly, accurately, and safely. There are also hot-button issues that go beyond policies and bills. The first is the issue of dropping indictments in cases involving the president. It is described as a hot potato because it is difficult to be recognized as an achievement while easily fueling controversy.

During the national convention campaign, Kim said in a media interview regarding the withdrawal of indictments, "If prosecutorial fabrication of an indictment is evident, it is a matter of principle that it should be dropped at that very moment." A close aide to Kim also explained, "The intention is that if a fabricated indictment is confirmed, continuing a trial based on such fabrication makes no sense." If state agencies conducted fabricated investigations and indictments, correcting them according to the procedures established by the Constitution and law is naturally necessary.

However, with multiple cases involving the incumbent president subject to investigation by an internal Justice Ministry committee, further intervention by the ruling party will drastically increase political fallout. Opposition voices are substantial not only from rival parties but also from within the broader ruling coalition. Previously, a group primarily composed of pro-Lee lawmakers formed the "Caucus to Pursue Indictment Dismissals and Parliamentary Investigation for President Lee Jae-myung's Cases," but author Rhyu Si-min—who categorized Democratic Party supporters into ABC (value-driven traditional supporters, interest-driven new Lee supporters, and their intersection)—fiercely criticized it as "sheer madness." The constitutional amendment agenda sparked after President Lee's golf meeting with opposition lawmakers is another tough challenge for the ruling party leader. Kim has made remarks expressing agreement with the need for a presidential consecutive or multiple-term system, reflecting President Lee's long-held philosophy, and has taken the position that constitutional revisions should be handled sequentially starting with areas where ruling and opposition parties have fewer disagreements. He also added that sufficient discussion is required regarding the direction of power structure reform.
The limitations of the single five-year term system, the disruption of presidential accountability, fiscal and regional decentralization, strengthening of basic rights, and reform of constitutional institutions are long-standing challenges. Some items have already been discussed multiple times across the political spectrum, such as enshrining the spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement in the preamble of the Constitution. The issue is that among the constitutional amendment topics, power structure reform—particularly term issues such as consecutive or multiple terms—is coming to the fore these days. The moment power structure reform is tied to the incumbent president's term, the opposition is highly likely to raise allegations of an attempt at prolonged rule. Although constitutionally any amendment extending the presidential term or allowing re-election would not apply to the incumbent president, and the opposition holds the threshold to block constitutional amendments (more than 100 seats) in the National Assembly, avoiding political suspicion completely is difficult. Moreover, even within the ruling bloc that must lead the constitutional debate, differing theories—such as expanding to the center, structural majority, and complete reconstruction—are clashing without a consensus.

If the Criminal Procedure Act amendment is an issue of institutional design, the controversy over dropping indictments is a matter of political trust arising when the system intersects with cases involving the incumbent president. With constitutional amendment debates involving power structure reform added to this mix, Kim faces the task of clearly demarcating the boundary between the rule of law and political interests. The final challenge may prove to be far more difficult than the preceding four. It is internal party unity, corresponding to the "B (broad)" in the plan. Right after the national convention, Kim reached out by stating, "I will run together with Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil," adding, "I will open up the field broadly and bring them along." At the same time, he said, "I will change the Democratic Party. Our language, policies, attitudes, and culture will evolve." While seeking to heal internal party conflicts with a message of unity, he also revealed his view that the party's current competitive culture cannot continue as it is.
This Democratic Party convention was fiercer than ever before. Derogatory slurs were openly exchanged between the camps of candidates Kim Min-seok and Jung Chung-rae, and "grave-digging"—unearthing past words and actions—was intense. Former President Moon Jae-in was even concerned enough to remark in a video congratulatory address, "If things continue like this, it will be a major problem; it is true that watching this convention has caused great concern."

The convention results also demonstrate that greater energy will be required for unity. After failing to secure a majority in the first round, Kim Min-seok obtained 54.08% under the ranked-choice voting system following support from candidate Song Young-gil. Although the convention took place amid overwhelming support from the pro-Lee faction and dues-paying members in the Honam region, his vote share was lower than the 61.74% won by former party leader Jung Chung-rae a year ago. Furthermore, in the composition of the party leadership, three out of the five elected supreme council members are pro-Jung. The defeat of candidate Kim Yong—whom President Lee had referred to as his alter ego and for whom Kim also appealed for last-minute support—is likely all the more painful. Following his defeat, Representative Jung Chung-rae stated on a live broadcast, "Jung Chung-rae lost, but Jung Chung-rae's supporters won. While Jung Chung-rae ultimately lost in numbers, what Jung Chung-rae advocated did not lose." Drawing on the party base and public opinion that yielded his 45.92%, his remarks can also be seen as an indication that the factional struggle over the party's direction will continue.

Kim's "romantic dream" has become a reality, but the real homework begins now. On real estate and the stock market, he must deliver adjustments that the market can accept; on the Criminal Procedure Act and the issue of dropping indictments, he must secure procedural trust. On constitutional revision, he must steadily build from agreeable agendas, and on internal party conflict, he must advance unity and reform in tandem. Now is the time for him to prove it all through "C" for competence.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.