6·3 지방선거 후폭풍, 더불어민주당의 권력 지형이 요동친다 > K-wave Trends

The results of this local election left the Democratic Party with a serious task beyond simple victory or defeat. The Democratic Party, which was initially expected to win a landslide victory, lost in major battlegrounds, including the Seoul mayoral election, and had to confirm both the theory of government checks and the warnings of public sentiment. In particular, the votes expressed mainly in the metropolitan area and the Yeongnam area suggest that the existing hard stance, such as the theory of ‘rebellion judgment,’ is no longer persuasive to the moderates and young people. In some quarters, criticism is pouring in that the leadership has failed to expand its reach by being absorbed only in the voices of the party's strong supporters, and this is directly leading to the theory of responsibility for the strategic absence of the leadership of Chung Cheong-rae.

In this situation, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's announcement of his resignation and return to the party emerged as the most powerful variable shaking up the party's power structure. Prime Minister Kim announced the news of his resignation and formalized his challenge for party power by putting forward a ‘strong and capable Democratic Party.’ This is interpreted as a will to make a head-on approach targeting the current leadership’s lack of practicality. The Blue House also highly evaluates Prime Minister Kim's performance in state affairs over the past year and is lending support to his actions, so attention is being paid to how the complex dynamics within the pro-Myung faction will be reorganized in the future. Prime Minister Kim is pursuing a strategy to present a successful model for the entire party and government, emphasizing a pragmatic line for the people's livelihood.

The emergence of Rep. Song Young-gil, another axis of the party leadership competition, is putting a huge burden on Representative Chung Cheong-rae's path to a second term. Representative Song, who re-entered the National Assembly through a by-election, is exerting strong checks by directly holding Representative Chung responsible for the defeat in the local elections. In particular, the appearance of targeting the public sentiment in the Honam region and keeping pace with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is serving as a catalyst for uniting non-party factions within the party. As the pressure for Representative Chung Cheong-rae to resign and the theory of responsibility intensifies, factional conflict within the Democratic Party is already spreading, reminiscent of a prelude to the national convention.

As practical procedures to prepare for the national convention gather pace, tensions within the party are reaching their peak. The leadership is adjusting the national convention schedule between mid-August and early September, and in this process, has established a policy to establish a local election evaluation committee to recover the reasons for the election defeat. However, there are already conflicting opinions within the party regarding the fairness of the evaluation committee, so there is great concern that the publication of the white paper itself will spark another conflict. Supreme Council member Lee Eon-ju's resignation and the leadership's sharp reaction to it can be said to be a clear example of how internal strife within the party is already getting out of control.

Given that the next party leader will exercise the powerful power of nomination rights for the 2028 general election, this convention goes beyond simple election of party officials and has the character of a preliminary battle for the path to the presidency. Senior members of the party, including Rep. Park Jie-won, are warning that overheated competition could ultimately lead to the party's demise and are calling for a ‘quiet national convention.’ However, the flames of the power struggle that have already begun show no signs of fading away, and the calculations between party candidates are becoming more complicated. Ultimately, the core task facing the Democratic Party depends on breaking away from the political inertia of the past and presenting a vision that fits the spirit of the new era.