Outgoing PM gains ground as next ruling party leader with president’s support

President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok before leaving for a 10-day trip to Europe from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is gaining momentum as the potential next leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), with President Lee Jae Myung publicly praising his leadership and bringing him along to an official event.

The development stands in stark contrast with incumbent DPK Chairman Jung Chung-rae, who is seeking reelection but has come under criticism for the party's losses in several key races in last week's local elections. Jung was not invited to attend the aforementioned event.

Kim offered his resignation and formally declared his candidacy for the DPK leadership Sunday, writing on social media that after serving as prime minister throughout the president’s first year in office, his next mission is "to build a strong and capable DPK that can overcome entrenched resistance and realize the spirit of the times represented by the Lee administration."

“Politics is about realizing the spirit of the times, and firmly supporting the Lee administration's vision is both the wish of the people and the mission of the DPK’s 1 million members,” Kim wrote.

In Monday's televised press conference marking his first year in office, the president voiced support for the prime minister, saying that "it would be more appropriate for him to take on a different role now."

“Thanks to the prime minister’s outstanding leadership, the Cabinet has worked relentlessly toward a single goal and followed the direction I set without internal friction,” Lee said.

The president asserted that the “Cabinet has functioned exceptionally well so far,” adding, “I wonder if there has ever been a Cabinet in history that achieved so many tangible results in such a short period of time."

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Jung Chung-rae sits in thought after the party's first Supreme Council meeting since the June 3 local elections at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

On Tuesday, Kim was among a selected group of Cabinet members who saw off Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung as they departed for a 10-day trip to Europe.

Notably absent was Jung, who has routinely attended send-off ceremonies in the past.

Cheong Wa Dae explained that it had minimized the number of participants attending the ceremony in consideration of the prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

It also cited the ruling party's need to respond to the National Election Commission's mishandling of last week's local elections, in which ballot shortages at several polling stations sparked protests from voters.

Political observers, however, speculated that the presidential office deliberately left Jung out after Lee voiced dissatisfaction with the local election results.

Although the DPK won 12 of the 16 races for metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, Lee appeared critical of the party's defeats in key battlegrounds. Those included the Seoul mayoral race and a parliamentary by-election in a district in Busan.

"If we lost places we were expected to win, it can hardly be called a success,” the president said, adding that "situations that are simply hard to understand took place."

Meanwhile, the DPK plans to elect its next leaders between August and September.