Park Suhyun: "'Ohapjijol' Remark, Innovation Committee Chair Must Do That Much"

Kim Eun-kyung, the Innovation Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been openly critical of the party, calling it a 'ragtag group.' Former Blue House Communications Secretary Park Soo-hyun positively evaluated this, saying, "The Innovation Committee Chair should be doing at least that much."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, former Secretary Park said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "I felt like, for the first time in a while, something new is coming out of the Democratic Party,"

Earlier, at the Innovation Committee meeting held on the 6th, Chair Kim harshly criticized the Democratic Party, calling it a "ragtag, dysfunctional family" and "in a state of internal strife due to rushing their own politics." Former Secretary Park said, "Probably, she was strongly dissatisfied with the lukewarm response of the party to her first and foremost demand to relinquish privileges, specifically the pledge to give up immunity from arrest," adding, "It seems she expressed her determination to firmly reform the party by reasserting the presence of the Innovation Committee."

When asked by the host about the meaning behind the 'ragtag group' criticism, former Secretary Park explained, "It was a criticism of the incompetence of the ruling Yoon Seok-yeol government and the main opposition party, which holds the largest number of seats but fails to strongly check the government. As a member of the Democratic Party, I argue that there is no serious factionalism within our party, but from the public's perspective, the conflict between the pro-Myeong and anti-Myeong factions has reached its peak, with even talks of a party split. In such a situation, the remark was a call to get their act together."

However, he also criticized the Innovation Committee, saying that the first innovation proposal, the 'waiver of immunity from arrest,' was a minor issue. He said, "Bringing up the pledge to give up immunity from arrest as the first agenda item is probably a very minor issue when innovation should be viewed in a broader context," adding, "Strategically, it was an issue that was unlikely to succeed, and bringing up such a minor issue caused the strategy and tactics to fall apart."

Regarding the deepening factional conflicts within the party, and the mention of a 'pleasant separation' by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min, who is part of the anti-Myeong faction, which has sparked rumors of a party split, he said, "(The possibility of a split) does not exist," adding, "In times of crisis, we should unite, not tear ourselves apart thinking our way is right and fail as we have clearly seen before."

He continued, "I believe Lee Sang-min's constituency is Gongju, which is right next to Daejeon Yuseong-gu, where I am from, so I often hear local opinions about his remarks, and people find them quite amusing," adding, "I think it would be better if he spoke in a way that helps the party's development and overcoming the crisis." Although Lee's remarks might be entertaining to hear, they do not help in overcoming the party's crisis.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.