Two months after Kim Min-seok took the helm of the Democratic Party, the party leader is drawing assessments that he has fallen short of expectations, hobbled by internal conflict and a string of gaffes. Kim moved from the post of prime minister to party leader and was seen as a relief pitcher who would settle friction between the party and the presidential office, but factional strife persists and the party's support ratings have barely rebounded. Since taking office he has pursued an ambitious agenda — launching task forces, making field visits and stepping up communication through YouTube broadcasts — yet controversies have overshadowed any clear policy achievements, leaving his leadership on trial, observers said.
Over the 65 days since he took office on Aug. 17, Kim has focused on reforming the party and reviving its support ratings without clear results, according to political sources on the 21st. In a party support survey of 1,005 voters aged 18 and over nationwide conducted by Realmeter on the 15th and 16th at the request of the Asia Economy Daily, the Democratic Party registered 36.2%. That was up 0.7 percentage points from the previous survey but down 11.7 percentage points from the 47.9% recorded in the Aug. 13-14 survey, just before Kim took office. Rather than the 10-percentage-point gain within his first 100 days that Kim had pledged, support has fallen by double digits in a little over two months.
Since taking office, Kim has set out stabilizing relations between the party and the presidential office, reforming the party and running it with a focus on people's livelihoods as his core tasks. Some credit him with strengthening communication between the party and the presidential office and achieving a measure of improvement in those ties, drawing on his experience as prime minister, but unity within the party remains an unresolved challenge. Amid allegations that members of the Shincheonji religious group joined the party en masse, figures aligned with former leader Jung Chung-rae, including Supreme Council member Choi Min-hee, have demanded that Kim disclose the basis for and the findings of his claim of a "secret three-way alliance of Shincheonji, anti-Lee forces and divisionists" — a sign that the factional conflict that erupted during the party convention continues.
Within the party, critics say Kim emphasizes unity while remaining reluctant to embrace other factions. One political source said, "He stressed unity after the convention, but he has never actually practiced even-handed appointments," adding, "Figures aligned with Jung were excluded from bodies such as the committee on mega special zones, and there are moves to keep in check people who had supported former leader Jung Chung-rae."
His hard-line response to a series of verbal missteps by ruling-party figures is also cited as a factor deepening resentment within the party. After Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's remark about a "straw" draining firefighting finances, Democratic Party lawmaker Boo Seung-chan stirred controversy with a similar expression, prompting Kim to issue a stern warning to Boo and order a party-level investigation.
But some within the party say that while appropriate action against abusive or careless remarks is necessary, heavy-handed sanctions could also discourage the free expression of views. A prominent example is Lim Eun-jung, head of the Gwangju branch of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, who became the target of an internal inspection after publicly opposing the appointment of Kim Ji-yong as nominee for commissioner of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency. Critics say that if even voicing a view different from the leadership's leads to disciplinary action or inspections, it could weaken a strength the Democratic Party has long maintained — respect for diverse voices.
One Democratic Party lawmaker said, "Right now the mood is that everyone has to watch what they say. It's hard to say anything when you think a misstep could bring a warning or an investigation by the leadership." The lawmaker added, "Under Lee Jae-myung and Jung Chung-rae as leaders, people said what needed to be said and challenged what needed challenging, and apologized for what they got wrong," and stressed that "it is the leader's role to acknowledge and embrace the party's many voices."
Another Democratic Party official said, "The Democratic Party is a party that succeeded in taking power while diverse voices coexisted and it pursued a reformist direction," and said, "If disciplinary action and inspections are the first thing raised simply because someone disagrees with the leadership, the party's appeal is bound to fade." The official added, "If he talks about unity but cannot embrace different voices, even those who supported the Democratic Party could turn their backs."
The so-called "task force politics" he has pushed energetically since taking office also draws mixed reviews over its effectiveness. Kim has put forward a plan to strengthen the party's policy response by running more than 40 task forces to address livelihood and policy issues. But critics say that, relative to the expansion of such bodies, legislative and policy results that the public can feel remain unclear. He has visited predawn markets, workplaces of environmental service workers and fire stations and expanded his provincial schedule, but questions have also been raised about whether these field visits have translated into concrete policy results. One Democratic Party lawmaker said, "Once you become party leader, you need to set your own goals and sense of priorities and concentrate your efforts, but right now there is no visible direction."
The party's official YouTube channel, "Minti 07," has also drawn criticism for adding to fatigue through an excess of messaging. Political commentator Park Sang-byung said, "Since Kim has espoused alignment between the party and the government, the ruling party should be backing up the president when his approval rating falls, but instead it is failing to play that role," adding, "On housing policy alone, Kim should have traveled the country, discussed supply measures with heads of local governments and found practical solutions." He said, "If talk grows without results, the public is bound to feel fatigue," and advised, "He should talk less and show it through action."
Recently, even his field visits have led to a string of controversies, adding to the burden. On the 15th, Kim apologized after being caught up in a controversy over excessive protocol for halting a singer's performance to deliver remarks at the Sunchang Fermented Foods Festival in Jeonbuk State. On the 18th, after it emerged that a vehicle in his motorcade had used a hospital parking area reserved for emergency patients while he was paying respects at the funeral of a firefighter who died in the line of duty, the Democratic Party and Kim Tae-sun, chief of staff to the party leader, apologized. With Kim emphasizing the establishment of discipline within the party while controversies swirl around him, critics say questions of fairness could arise over future action against party members.
Experts assess that Kim has concentrated on exercising the authority of party leader while lacking the persuasive leadership needed to draw voluntary participation from party members. Kim Hyung-joon, chair professor at Pai Chai University, said, "Kim has power but no leadership," adding, "If power is the ability to force others to do what they do not want, leadership is the ability to persuade others to take part voluntarily — and Kim is immersed only in power." He said, "Over the past two months he has focused on delivering his own message one-sidedly but has failed to persuade others," and stressed that "given the conflict during the convention, soft power is all the more necessary."
The survey cited in this article was conducted entirely by mobile phone using an automated response system, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Further details are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.