단상斷想

To understand the nature of the internal power struggle within the Lee Jae-myung government, it is necessary to closely examine the recent conflict surrounding Minister Jeong Seong-ho. Jeong Seong-ho's realistic and compromising stance on the prosecution reform bill immediately triggered concentrated fire from hardliners within the Democratic Party, especially the pro-Moon faction represented by Jeong Cheong-rae, Min Hyung-bae, and Choi Kang-wook, who was granted a special pardon this Liberation Day. As can be seen from the anecdote that Cho Kuk, who was pardoned together, asked Choi Kang-wook to buy him a tie, the two have a close relationship. It ended up creating an image for Choi Kang-wook that he looked like Cho Kuk's eunuch or butler. Now is the early days of the new government, and because eliminating the seditious forces is more important than any other task, the 'Moon-ppa' forces are shaking the Lee Jae-myung government organization and trying to take the position of Minister of Justice for the pro-Moon faction, inciting public opinion in the progressive camp. This is not a criticism of policy differences, but a political attack aimed at reorganizing the power landscape.

Therefore, this situation should be read as a facet of the internal power struggle within the Democratic Party, which has a much larger meaning than the policy agenda of prosecutorial reform. We must abandon the illusion that only the People Power Party has problems and that the Democratic Party is engaged in clean politics. Given that public opinion, which had been quietly protecting Moon Jae-in throughout Yoon Seok-yeol's term, eventually came to an end with a state of emergency, the truth of the pro-Moon faction's attack on the Lee Jae-myung cabinet can act as a significant burden on the entire Blue House and government. In that respect, shaking up Jung Sung-ho is a serious problem. Now, our sophisticated readers need to have their right to know fully satisfied.

First of all, Minister Chung Sung-ho has been classified as relatively reasonable and moderate within the party. His opinions on the prosecution reform plan are also interpreted as focusing on institutional stability and realistic feasibility, rather than radical or revolutionary methods. However, the pro-Moon faction is enjoying the beauty of disguise by shaking the current Lee Jae-myung government's Ministry of Justice's prosecution reform plan as if their past failure of 'prosecution reform' is the core identity of the Democratic Party, appearing as a hard-line route. The leading figures are Jung Chung-rae and Min Hyung-bae, and they are advocating the slogan 'The real prosecution reform hardliners are the pro-Moon faction.' In that case, Chung Sung-ho, who is a minister in the Lee Jae-myung government, suddenly becomes a 'reform setback' and a target of criticism.

During the Moon Jae-in administration, regardless of Moon Jae-in's intentions, then-Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae engaged in a strong confrontation with the prosecution. Through the memory of the public's enthusiasm for Choo Mi-ae's hard-line stance, the hardliners in the Democratic Party learned that a 'hard-line reform drive' is an effective weapon to unite the Democratic Party's supporters. Therefore, Minister Jeong Seong-ho's remarks immediately escalated into 'betrayal of reform' and evidence of 'Lee Jae-myung government's powerlessness.' The problem is that before getting angry at this frame, we must first recall that it was none other than Moon Jae-in, the leader of the Moon supporters, who dismissed that Joan of Arc. It is cowardly as a human being to slightly twist the fact that Moon Jae-in raised Yoon Seok-yeol, abandoned the Cho Kuk family, and forced Choo Mi-ae to step down from her position as minister, and use it as a weapon to humiliate Lee Jae-myung. Of course, there may be attempts to do this for the narcissist Cho Kuk, but both Moon Jae-in and Cho Kuk are figures who have betrayed their political trust.

The public needs to be aware that these internal attacks go beyond targeting Jeong Seong-ho as an individual and aim for the political effect of turning President Lee Jae-myung and the government itself into a 'lame duck government.' The pro-Moon faction is trying to enforce their line regarding prosecutorial reform, and furthermore, they are calculating to oust Jeong Seong-ho or induce a change of personnel to place the person they want in the Ministry of Justice. In other words, they are trying to regroup their forces under the pretext of 'the minister must be replaced for reform.' I believe that believing that past forms of politics are a sustainable method is an anachronism.

First, this conflict has the character of a clash of lines between the "Cheong Wa Dae-government forces centered on President Lee Jae-myung" and the "pro-Moon hardline political group." From the beginning of his term, President Lee Jae-myung prioritized the stability of state affairs, expressed the opinion that reform tasks should also consider feasibility and enforceability, and showed sincerity in employing even Yoon Seok-yeol's people, but the ruling party, not the opposition party, is trying to trip up Lee Jae-myung and trying to cross the line. The pro-Moon forces adhere to the failed hardline prosecution reform framework that has continued since the Moon Jae-in administration, and reveal their intention to expand their influence within the party through this. In other words, the president is throwing keyword attacks to the public, claiming that the president has adopted 'integration and stability' as a core strategy, while the pro-Moon hardliners have adopted 'reform drive and solidarity,' making the president a 'pushover.'

Second, criticism of Minister Chung Sung-ho personally has the immediate effect of shaking President Lee Jae-myung's state leadership. Minister Chung is President Lee Jae-myung's close aide and trusted figure who is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, and attacking him head-on is not criticizing the minister, but denying the president's right to 인사 and philosophy of state affairs. This immediately creates the image of ‘President Lee Jae-myung as a powerless leader who cannot even defend his core aides,’ and furthermore leads to a strategic blow that drives the government into a lame-duck government. Chung Sung-ho is one of the few Seoul National University-educated elites who helped Lee Jae-myung, who came from a working-class background. Although he lacks personal charisma, he is clearly a knowledgeable person.

Third, this incident shows that the power struggle within the Democratic Party is evolving from a 'policy line difference' to a 'fight over personnel rights and leadership.' The pro-Moon hardliners are trying to push through the appointment of the Minister of Justice they want through prosecutorial reform, and through this, they are trying to shake the balance of power within the Lee Jae-myung government. This is not a reform debate, but rather a fight for leadership over key government posts and a political move to preempt the next party leadership and presidential election structure.

Fourth, this conflict is bound to negatively affect the Democratic Party and the government as a whole. If internal attacks are openly waged in a situation where even the final coordination of opinions on the prosecution reform plan between the party, the Blue House, and the government has not been completed, the public will perceive the Democratic Party as a "group preoccupied with its own internal strife." This increases public fatigue and disappointment, and ultimately hinders both the expansion of the Democratic Party's base and the increase in the approval rating of state affairs. Furthermore, it is like injecting an expensive Ringer's solution into the dying People Power Party and reviving it. We must not overlook the fact that the famous saying that the enemy of the Democratic Party is within the Democratic Party was left by our prostitute First Lady.

The attacks by self-proclaimed hardliners such as Chung Cheong-rae and Min Hyung-bae may be advantageous for solidifying their base within the party, but in reality, it is a shallow calculation to ignore the party's sentiment that supported Park Chan-dae and to lead politics under the initiative of special relations. From the perspective of the entire public, there is a high possibility that it will deepen the negative image that 'the Democratic Party is hindering Lee Jae-myung's government rather than helping it.' In particular, President Lee Jae-myung has emphasized the balance of state affairs since taking office, advocating 'integration and stability,' but internal radical criticism directly clashes with his philosophy of state affairs. Therefore, this conflict is likely to act as a major setback for the Democratic Party and the Lee Jae-myung government as a whole. The essence of this power struggle boils down to the question of whether to recognize the 'government operation structure centered on President Lee Jae-myung' or 'whether the pro-Moon hardliners will regain control within the party?' If the President is pushed by the pressure of hardliners and embarks on personnel changes or policy revisions, the stability and leadership of the government will be greatly damaged. Conversely, if the President firmly defends this and maintains his own line, the Democratic Party will inevitably deepen internal conflicts, but it is also an opportunity to fix the political behavior of arbitrarily dragging things along someday. In the end, this conflict will not be a controversy over prosecutorial reform, but a testing ground that fundamentally defines the power structure of the Lee Jae-myung government and the Democratic Party.

The controversy surrounding Minister Jeong Seong-ho is not a difference in policy lines, but a prelude to the reorganization of power within the Democratic Party. The pro-Moon hardliners are trying to consolidate their power under the pretext of "opposing the retreat of prosecutorial reform," but in reality, it is just a power struggle. The Blue House and the government value the realism of stable reform promotion. Now, what stance should the public take? If you blindly follow Jeong Cheong-rae, Min Hyung-bae, and Choi Kang-wook, it will be as the former First Lady predicted. If you take this opportunity to clean up factional politics and watermelon remnants within the Democratic Party, you can make the path for the Lee Jae-myung government a little less difficult. For reference, Min Hyung-bae is the lawmaker who, as a first-term member in 2021, caused controversy by proposing the deletion of the 'Hongik Ingan' textbook and then withdrew it. Removing Hongik Ingan from the textbook is tantamount to denying the Dangun myth, and it brings about the result of denying the history of existing humanity. Dangun, who is known as a myth, is an exception, but Hongik Ingan is a four-character idiom for the effort of all mankind to coexist and prosper, so his claims are not ideologically understood. The Democratic Party also has many dark histories. The allegation of National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun's JMS activities, the rumors of homosexuality of a multi-term lawmaker in the past, and all the National Assembly members, regardless of the ruling or opposition parties, who offer stocks, coins, etc., are strange people who are against inter-Korean economic cooperation. Since they are someone's family before they are members of the National Assembly, I hope that they too will be honorable as human beings.