Kim Yong: "Election Strategy Failure Responsibility Lies With Leadership... Chung Sye-kyun's Perception is Lazy"

Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Party's research institute, has publicly criticized the party's leadership, stating that the heavy responsibility for election strategy failures must be borne by the party leader and the leadership team. He specifically targeted leader Chung Sye-kyun, whose view that the local elections were a national victory for the Democratic Party despite defeats in Seoul was described as "lazy and pervasive."

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The heavy responsibility for election strategy failures and absence must be borne by the party leader and the leadership team with their whole bodies.

Kim also voiced strong opposition to Han Dong-hoon becoming a member of the National Assembly. He described Han's entry into parliament as a significant issue, representing a "resurgence of political prosecutors who sought to annihilate the opposition party" and foreshadowing an "unveiling of fabricated crimes." Kim expressed his inability to suppress his anger at seeing Han, who he identified as the ultimate responsible party for the political prosecution's investigations and indictments under President Yoon Suk-yeol, take his oath as a lawmaker.

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The party leader's perception that this local election was a national victory for the Democratic Party and that Seoul's defeat was painful is lazy and pervasive, and too far removed from public sentiment.

Addressing the election results, including the victories of Chu Kyo-han as Daegu mayor-elect and Lee Jin-sook and Kim Tae-gyu as assembly members, Kim questioned whether these outcomes should solely be attributed to the choices of local residents. He warned against celebrating the overall numbers, such as the 12-to-4 split, while failing to recapture Seoul and losing key constituencies. Kim stressed the need for a sober analysis and response to these results.

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Seeing Han Dong-hoon, who was the ultimate responsible party for the political prosecution's investigations and fabricated indictments, take his oath as a member of the National Assembly is not a simple matter.

Kim further argued that evaluating election results should not be a matter of quickly hiding behind a white paper or attributing blame to systemic issues, a move previously announced by Chung Sye-kyun. Kim contended that such an approach is an evasion of responsibility. He also dismissed explanations attributing the defeat to merger controversies, political maneuvering, regionalism, or the votes of those in their 20s and 30s as self-serving arguments that ignore their own accountability. Kim warned that if the party continues to avoid responsibility and engage in arrogant politics detached from public sentiment, historical regression will repeat itself.

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It is not a time to celebrate victory by being intoxicated by the overall numbers, such as 12 to 4. We must soberly analyze and respond to the results of losing key constituencies that we absolutely had to protect, including the failure to recapture the Seoul mayoral race, which was the biggest battleground.