- Han Sung-sook passes over Oh Se-hoon at Cabinet meeting... Does that save face?
- Seoul's real estate issue is serious... Scolded for suggesting consultations
- Ruling party's national convention is a struggle over ideological line... Backlash against 'New Lee Jae-myung' line
- Kim Min-seok discards government stance to cater to hardline party members
- Jung Chung-rae went too far... Tide turning toward Kim Min-seok
- In the second year of the administration... DP members have no choice
- If Jung Chung-rae becomes party leader? A Uri Party-like crisis could occur
- Jang Dong-hyeok to announce reform plan? No momentum for the party since the June 3 election
- Must present a reform plan that frees members from nomination constraints
- Jung Jeom-sig shows limits in moving the party... Heavyweights not budging
 
■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM)
■ Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2026
■ Host: Attorney Kim Tae-hyun
■ Guest: Kim Sung-tae, former lawmaker of the People Power Party
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Who made him angry today, and why? Meeting on Wednesdays, it's "Angry Sung-tae," former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sung-tae. Hello.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Hello, I'm Kim Sung-tae.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Former lawmaker, who made you angry this week?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: I think I have to be angry at the Democratic Party today, which is not our camp.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Who in the Democratic Party?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yesterday, especially Prime Minister Han Sung-sook, including President Lee Jae-myung—well, there was a Cabinet meeting yesterday. Mayor Oh Se-hoon attended it for the first time in a while. Furthermore, after the June 3 election, among the heads of local governments, Mayor Oh Se-hoon naturally attended as an ex-officio member because he is the Mayor of Seoul, and Gwangju Mayor Min Hyung-bae also attended.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: That's right.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: In that regard, the real estate issue in Seoul is the most urgent issue for Mayor Oh Se-hoon. President Lee Jae-myung has also posted so much on social media about stabilizing housing prices from last year to the first half of this year. However, current sales prices, as well as Jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) and monthly rent prices, have risen the most in 10 years, by nearly 11%. Yet, when Mayor Oh Se-hoon suggested discussing this urgent situation even briefly at the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Sung-sook passed over it. She hasn't even been Prime Minister for long, and dismissing it like that doesn't establish her authority.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: And at the end, President Lee Jae-myung at least gave him a chance to make remarks, but as soon as he brought up the real estate issue, he just cut him off.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Saying, "Let's talk about that later."
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes, saying "let's do it later." Watching that made me a bit angry.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. But Mayor Oh Se-hoon held another press conference after returning to Seoul City Hall yesterday, expressing disappointment and regret about that.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: From Mayor Oh's perspective, he was scolded to his face by none other than Prime Minister Han Sung-sook. It must have been quite embarrassing. Besides, with the recent ruling regarding the Yoon Suk-yeol and Myung Tae-kyun public opinion polls the other day, he couldn't have been at ease anyway.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: And the sentencing is not far off now.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Regardless of that, he is truly concerned because the real estate issue in Seoul is very serious, and housing prices have surged. It has probably risen the most in over 10 years, Jeonse has completely dried up, and monthly rents have skyrocketed. This issue ultimately needs to be resolved by the government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government working hand in hand. But when the head of Seoul suggested consulting with the government's cooperation and the city's own plans, he was scolded to his face. How personally hurt Mayor Oh Se-hoon must have been. That is why he came out and held a press conference.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. Since you said the ruling camp made you angry this week, let's look at the ruling party first. Currently, the Democratic Party's national convention is being described with modifiers like "a convention that will decide the fate of the DP for the next 10 years" or "the most fierce DP national convention in history."
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: You are a complete outsider to this, right? How do you view the current structure of the national convention—former leader Jung Chung-rae versus former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Representative Song Young-gil?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: No matter how much Kim Min-seok or Song Young-gil try to frame this as a three-way race with Jung Chung-rae, in Jung Chung-rae's own mind, he thinks, "You guys are not my opponents. My opponent is President Lee Jae-myung."
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: He can't express it outwardly, but that's what he thinks inside?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Exactly. That's why he made various remarks, even in his candidacy declaration, saying things like "administrations are short-lived." Ultimately, President Lee Jae-myung also made a decisive move before his last trip to Europe, expressing his honest, straightforward feelings that the party-presidency relations with Representative Jung Chung-rae over the past year had been difficult. When was that? It was when there was a controversy over whether Jung Chung-rae would run for party leader or not.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: The bottom line was, "You made me uncomfortable. I don't want to work with you starting from the second year of my administration." He essentially left that message behind. But when he returned, Jung Chung-rae ended up deciding to run anyway, didn't he?
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: From President Lee Jae-myung's perspective, despite Jung Chung-rae pledging loyalty to Lee Jae-myung in his candidacy declaration, claiming he is the only one who can support him, and mentioning "loyalty" dozens of times while talking about inheriting the legacies of DJ (Kim Dae-jung), Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in, and Lee Jae-myung within the DP—that's not what it is.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Then what is it?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Ultimately, it is a struggle over the ideological line. In other words, Jung Chung-rae is the legitimate successor of DJ, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in, while you [Lee Jae-myung] came in as an outsider. He is saying, "I do not agree with you trying to create a 'New Lee Jae-myung' political landscape." Those who were supporting that effort were writer Rhyu Si-min, broadcaster Kim Ou-joon, and so on. But broadcaster Kim Ou-joon has changed a lot since he opened a French restaurant. Anyway, that's how it is. That is why a struggle over the ideological line is scarier than a power struggle.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So it's a struggle over the ideological line between the original mainstream of the DP and the new mainstream that President Lee Jae-myung is trying to create?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Exactly. That's why, regarding the issue of supplementary investigation authority revealed in the Gwangju high school girl murder case, candidate Kim Min-seok shouldn't act like that based on the DP's partisan interests.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: What do you mean by that?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: When he was Prime Minister, he led the prosecution reform task force, didn't he? What was his stance back then? He believed that to prevent unfair investigation results or injustices regarding sexual assault and crimes affecting public livelihoods, investigations must be thorough, so prosecutors at the public prosecution office should retain a very limited portion of supplementary investigation authority. That was President Lee Jae-myung's wish, and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok was the one who reviewed it. Yet, just a few days before declaring his candidacy for party leader, he announced that the government's stance is the complete abolition of supplementary investigation authority. Who runs for office like that? Instead, at a time like this, he should have said, "Unlike Representative Jung Chung-rae, I am not a candidate who appeals only to hardline DP members. I aim to become the leader of the ruling party, and since President Lee Jae-myung's future state administration is about national unity and focusing solely on the public, I believe we must maintain a certain level of supplementary investigation authority until police investigative authority is firmly established to support that." Running with that kind of stance is what a proper candidate would do.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok also catered to hardline party members regarding the supplementary investigation authority issue?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: It's not just catering to hardline members; he completely kicked away the government's stance. What is Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho's position? Does he not know the position of the President and Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho? But because he wants to become party leader, he kicked all of that away with the mindset of "let's just win first." In this situation, look at the Gwangju high school girl murder case—look at the wailing of the murdered girl's mother. How heartbreaking is that? This is an issue where a second or third victim could easily emerge.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So, in your view, who will win the national convention? People who have been in politics for a long time can usually tell when they look at other parties' conventions.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Right now, DP members have no choice.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Because they have to protect the President?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: What else can they do for a President entering his second year in office? The President says he is uncomfortable with Representative Jung Chung-rae as party leader. Even in my opinion, Representative Jung Chung-rae has gone too far.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Really?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Around September 25 last year, he reported on the amendment to the Government Organization Act, saying, "I will put the prosecution dissolution show on the Chuseok holiday dinner table." If you are the leader of the ruling party, you should coordinate to some extent with the Blue House, pay attention to public opinion, and echo the President's message of national unity in state administration. The President was even appointing figures from the conservative camp. He even invited Representative Jang Dong-hyeok to the Blue House to ask for cooperative politics. But as soon as Jung Chung-rae came out, he kicked it away. That's what he did.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will win, right?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Yes, from what I see, including the vast majority of active DP lawmakers, the political level of the DP's dues-paying members is quite high. If Jung Chung-rae wins in this situation, it will create huge discontent between President Lee Jae-myung and the DP, which, simply put, will trigger a political realignment. Then, a situation like the 2005 Uri Party crisis under former President Roh Moo-hyun could occur.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So you're saying if former leader Jung Chung-rae is re-elected, the DP could split?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: That's how I see it. That's what I think.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: While you predict former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will win, who would be better from the People Power Party's perspective? It would probably be better if former leader Jung Chung-rae wins, since the party would split.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Well, calculating politically like "the rival party's misfortune is our party's future and happiness" is not right. The reason I express concern about Representative Jung Chung-rae is that President Lee Jae-myung has launched major initiatives called the "Three Mega Projects." For instance, even for the southwestern semiconductor belt in Gwangju, Honam, those projects cannot move forward unless the party changes its mindset. I will point out three representative examples.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: First, the nuclear phase-out policy must be withdrawn. Whoever becomes leader must actually withdraw this nuclear phase-out policy that the Moon Jae-in administration drove a stake into.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Second, the dismantling of the four major river weirs built by MB (Lee Myung-bak). Back then, the MB conservative camp already argued that water resources would become a crucial national security asset in the future, which is why they installed the four major river weirs. But what has been done since then? Hasn't the show of dismantling the four major river weirs been a constant political issue for the DP?
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Third is labor reform. It will be difficult without supporting labor reform.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: In any case, your conclusion regarding the DP national convention is that former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will win, but from the PPP's perspective, it would be better if former leader Jung Chung-rae wins so the DP splits, though you can't say that openly. Is that right?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: A politician shouldn't openly wish for such things. However, we must think of the country and the people. In any case, as a centrist-pragmatic government, President Lee Jae-myung needs a ruling party that pursues centrist pragmatism rather than one drowned out by the voices of hardline supporters on the far left of his home party, the DP. That is exactly what I always worry about regarding the People Power Party. These people are constantly pushing this party, which should be a value group of rational conservatives, to the right. That would lead to the party shifting to the right and becoming a far-right party.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Because the President recently said we need to build a "structural majority."
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: That's exactly what it means.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Ultimately, it means expanding the centrist-conservative base. If that succeeds, the PPP will become a completely far-right party.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Exactly. In times like this, the PPP is the opposition party. As a social reform party, the conservatives must seize key issue agendas where the DP is traditionally strong, such as women's rights, human rights, equality, labor, the environment, healthcare, public services, and welfare.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So you're saying the PPP also needs to expand its camp.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: We must expand our landscape to better represent the socially disadvantaged and marginalized, vulnerable groups.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: But in this situation, Representative Jang [Dong-hyeok] said: "I am contemplating how to reform and change our party, and what we should fight for. In the near future, I will have time to announce my thoughts to the public. If a group of people sharing values and direction does not have the same thoughts about the party's values and the direction it should take, the party cannot help but fall into confusion and conflict." He says he will announce a reform plan in his own way. Are you afraid of what he might announce?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: I feel that this party lacks the momentum to be reborn through self-purification, change, and reform efforts as the public wishes after the June 3 election. Therefore, even though Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sig is making efforts to gather the consensus of lawmakers in his own way, it is what it is. The bottom line is that Representative Jang Dong-hyeok himself is saying he will serve out his term until the end, and if two supreme council members keep supporting that, there is no way out.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Under such circumstances, what kind of content will his reform plan have? In my view...
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: So you're worried it might be something that shifts the party even further to the right?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Whether it is an issue of such ideological lines, or fundamentally addressing the evils of political power—which is the nomination system, the root of all evil. Why do party leadership contenders or presidential hopefuls try to seize power within the party? It's because everyone's political survival in 2028 depends on nomination rights, which is why PPP lawmakers are constantly walking on eggshells. In this situation, a reform plan should be one that truly changes the party. In my opinion...
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Won't it be something like "party member sovereignty 10 to 0" for all primary elections?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: They should at least present a reform plan that creates a free party where members are not bound by nominations.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Former lawmaker, Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sig said, "Gathering lawmakers' opinions on Representative Jang's future is not easy. However, the general consensus is that this conflict should not drag on." But when asked, "If there is no way for Representative Jang to resign, what is the next plan?" he replied, "It is premature to talk about the next step." What does this mean?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: It's such a vague, cloud-catching way of speaking, testing the waters too much.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sig is?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Isn't this just letting time slip away while doing nothing? Therefore, the bottom line is that while lawmakers initially had high expectations and empowered the new floor leader in terms of leading party changes after the June 3 election...
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Is that not the case anymore?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: But as time goes on, I see that momentum fading.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Is Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sig not gathering the lawmakers' opinions, or is he unable to?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: He has his limits.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Why?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: It's because the heavyweights are not moving. The Yeongnam heavyweights are coiled up, and unless there is some personal interest or gain, they don't care whether the party goes to the mountains, the river, or the sea.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Why are those lawmakers not moving? Do they think it's better for Representative Jang to just finish his term?
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Well, they have their own ways of calculating. They raise the question of whether a proper leadership as party leader can be established for Representative Jang Dong-hyeok's remaining term if they act now. Naturally, the concern about creating leadership for the next general election, moving past Representative Jang Dong-hyeok's remaining term, will only materialize after February next year.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Yes.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Their broad consensus seems to be, "What's the point of doing it now?" That's why it's not working.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. We will wrap up today's "Angry Sung-tae" here.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: One last thing. If the DP is a responsible public party, it should not push for the abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority just to cater to its immediate supporter base or for partisan interests. They should approach it with the kind of supplementary investigation authority that the public expects.
 
▷Kim Tae-hyun: Understood. We will end here. That was former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sung-tae. Thank you.
 
▶Kim Sung-tae: Thank you.

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