Kim Young-joo Leaves Democratic Party... "Leaving 'Lee Jae-myung's Faction' That Gave Me Humiliation"

"Excellent Legislative Activity but Bottom 20%... Stigma of Anti-Myeong"
"Democratic Party Fallen into Lee Jae-myeong's Private Faction... Reveal Investigation"

Kim Young-joo, the first female Minister of Employment and Labor and a four-term Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, has announced her departure from the Democratic Party of Korea. She criticized the notification that she was included in the bottom 20% of incumbent lawmakers' evaluations as a "labeling of anti-Lee Jae-myung" and said, "I hope the Democratic Party does well, but I will not protect Lee Jae-myung."

On the afternoon of the 19th, Deputy Speaker Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and stated, "I am now planning to leave the Democratic Party." She continued, "For the past four years, I have been recognized for my diligent legislative activities, being selected as an excellent lawmaker every year by civic groups and the media," adding, "However, the Democratic Party notified me that I was in the bottom 20% of legislative activities, and as a lawmaker representing the residents of Yeongdeungpo, I felt humiliated."

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Young-joo is holding a press conference on leaving the party at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, she pointed out, "I have tried to contribute to the Democratic Party from the middle ground, but I believe they created a pretext to label me as anti-Lee and exclude me from the nomination by manipulating the scores." She added, "The notification of my bottom 20% ranking is the most blatant example of how the Democratic Party has degenerated into 'Lee Jae-myung's private faction,' and I demand that they disclose the quantitative and qualitative evaluation scores used as the basis for this assessment."

Immediately after announcing her departure, Deputy Speaker Kim told reporters that she received the notification of being in the "bottom 20%" from Im Hyuk-baek, the chairman of the nomination management committee, earlier that morning. Incumbents in the bottom 20% have 20% deducted from their primary election votes, and those in the bottom 10% have 30% deducted. Because of this, those in the bottom 10% are effectively excluded from nominations. It was reported that Deputy Speaker Kim was listed in the 20% category, not the bottom 10%.

She also referred to the controversial "public opinion poll" conducted over the past weekend, pointing out, "In the suitability survey, instead of asking 'Would you support Representative Kim Young-joo?' they emphasized 'Would you support four-term lawmaker Kim Young-joo if she runs again?' I think there was an intention behind emphasizing the four-term status."

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Young-joo is answering reporters' questions after finishing a press conference on leaving the party at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 19th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

When asked whether she would run again in her current constituency, "Seoul Yeongdeungpo-gap," Deputy Speaker Kim said, "I have not thought about the schedule after (leaving the party)." Regarding the criticism of the "Lee Jae-myung factionalization," she said, "A few days ago, a secretary from one of our party's lawmakers reportedly told a reporter that 'Kim Young-joo was included in the bottom 20%.' I believe this means that people from the pro-Lee faction secretly saw the list and knew about it."

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Kim, a former bank employee, was known as the "godmother of the labor movement," having served as the executive vice-chairman of the Korean Federation of Financial Industry Trade Unions. She entered politics in 1999 when then-President Kim Dae-jung appointed her as a "labor figure," and she served four terms representing Seoul Yeongdeungpo-gap. During the Moon Jae-in administration, she was appointed as the first female Minister of Employment and Labor, earning the title of "the first female labor minister," and is classified as part of the Jeong Se-gyun faction (SK faction).

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