Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Series of crises tests Lee Nak-yon's leadership
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Nak-yon speaks at the National Assembly, Sept. 7. Yonhap
By Do Je-hae
By Do Je-hae
The new ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Nak-yon is getting off to a rocky start.
The former prime minister had an easy win over his competitors in the race for the party leadership last month and took up his job with a focus on overcoming the “national crisis” from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only a few weeks into the job, the four-term lawmaker is saddled with the challenging task of turning around the declining public support for the ruling party following a series of controversies involving prominent DPK members, including Justice Minister and former DPK chairwoman Choo Mi-ae and Rep. Yoon Young-chan, who served as Moon's first senior presidential aide for public communication.
The new DPK chairman's leadership is expected to face a critical test in the coming weeks as he leads the party's response to the cases of Choo and Yoon, which touch on very sensitive issues for the Korean public, including mandatory military service, education and media control.
On Wednesday, Lee issued a “strong warning” to Yoon and the lawmaker apologized on Facebook. The ruling party has been hit by allegations of attempts to control the media following the rising controversy over Rep. Yoon's telegram message this week to summon the relevant official to his office to protest the arrangement of news content on the portal site Daum. The message has resulted in snowballing suspicions from the opposition and the public that Yoon, a former senior press secretary and also a former Naver executive, may have routinely meddled in media issues while he was serving at Cheong Wa Dae.
For the Korean public, already frustrated with the influence-peddling scandal of Choo's predecessor and former senior presidential aide, Cho Kuk, the Choo case has fanned the growing mistrust toward the Moon administration's self-proclaimed sincerity with regard to advancing Korean society by upholding justice and fairness. Yoon's text message intended to summon an official from a private company to protest its news content management is considered to be reminiscent of media manipulation during the previous conservative administrations.
Public opinion is increasingly turning against the ruling party and President Moon, according to latest surveys. A Realmeter survey published Thursday showed 45.7 percent positively assessed Moon's job performance, down 2.4 percent from a week earlier. The DPK's job approval rating dropped by 4.1 percent to 33.7 percent. The main opposition People Power Party gained 32.9 percent up 1.8 percent from a week ago.
Insiders say the party's response to the controversies could hurt Lee's presidential ambitions. The former South Jeolla Province Governor has been a favorite in candidate favorability surveys in the fight for Cheong Wa Dae in 2022, with Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung quickly catching up with his lead. Speculations are rising that Moon's first prime minister may lose the lead if public opinion toward the Moon administration does not improve in the coming months as Lee's popularity is heavily dependent on the President and his administration. Lee is widely expected to quit his post early next year to prepare for the presidential race.
“Lee does seem to have capacity for management,” said Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), in a media interview. “But this does not guarantee success in the presidential election. Both Lee and the Gyeonggi governor enjoy some level of public support, but neither has presented a clear vision about the situation that the country faces in various sectors.”
The problem is that explanations from leading DPK members regarding the controversies are resulting in even more anger from the public and the opposition. The PPP is demanding Choo's resignation and the appointment of a special prosecutor to ensure an impartial investigation into the suspected influence-peddling by Choo to facilitate some of the special favors her son allegedly received during his mandatory military service which coincided with the time when the five-term lawmaker was serving as the DPK chairwoman a few years ago.
The DPK has bit back at the opposition for politicizing a non-issue to disrupt Choo's drive to overhaul the prosecution, a primary objective of Moon's judicial reform. The ruling bloc is trying to appeal to the public that procedures were carried out within regulations regarding the extended vacation for Choo's son during his mandatory military service and that all suspicions were cleared during the National Assembly's nomination hearing prior to her appointment as justice minister in January.
“It is not desirable to elevate social controversy with unverified suspicions,” DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon said during a party meeting, Thursday.