As Democratic Party of Korea leader Jeong Cheong-rae and floor leader Kim Byeong-gi clashed over revisions to the "three special counsel bills" (special counsels on insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and Chae Hae-byeong), discord within the ruling party leadership surfaced. The Democratic Party said "there are no differences within the leadership," trying to put out the fire, but the situation has raised concerns that the party is being dragged by hard-liners and the hard-core base. With the ruling party overturning a bipartisan agreement, passage of the bill to create the Financial Supervisory Commission is also expected to be inevitably delayed.
On the 12th, the Democratic Party focused on containing the fallout from the "reversal of the special counsel agreement." At the Supreme Council meeting that day, Jeong said, "Rather than wasting time quarreling over needless disputes, we decided to focus on the essence of the three special counsels: finding the truth, holding those responsible to account, and preparing measures to prevent a recurrence," explaining the reason for the reversal.
He added, "Would the small differences among us be greater than our differences with the other side? We are comrades and fellow soldiers who have shared life and death, crossing the brink." He emphasized a one-team spirit. By referring to floor leader Kim, who the previous day had demanded a public apology in protest of the order to renegotiate, as a "comrade," he dismissed talk of conflict.
Spokesperson Park Soo-hyun also told reporters, "Even if you do well 10 times, one lapse in communication can cause a lot of confusion," adding, "There are no differences whatsoever between the party leader, the floor leader, and the leadership," drawing a line under talk of discord in the leadership. However, Kim did not mention the matter at the meeting that day and was said to have declined Jeong's offer to meet for dinner the previous evening.
Earlier, the ruling and opposition floor leadership agreed to a revision of the special counsel law that would not extend the investigation period, and prepared a compromise under which the People Power Party would cooperate on amending the Government Organization Act. But when Jeong declared the deal scrapped just 14 hours later, the clash within the ruling party leadership surfaced. Jeong said he "did not know the details and ordered renegotiations," but Kim's side maintains that it consulted the leadership in advance and reported everything one by one.
In political circles, the prevailing interpretation is that backlash from hard-liners played a decisive role in Jeong's reversal of the bipartisan agreement. After the agreement was announced, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairperson Choo Mi-ae and Supreme Council members Jeon Hyun-hee and Han Jun-ho strongly opposed it, and party members on online communities poured out criticism, calling it a "retreat on the special counsel." Choo also posted on Facebook that day, saying, "(The revision to the special counsel law) has already undergone repeated checks and deliberation in the subcommittee and was introduced as the party line," adding, "Would we agree in haste?" directly refuting the claim that the floor leadership had discussed it with the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in advance.
There is also an interpretation that the presidential office's stance influenced the decision to reverse the agreement. President Lee Jae-myung, at a press conference on the 100th day in office on the 11th, publicly expressed a negative view of the bipartisan agreement on revising the special counsel law, saying, "How could we trade amending the Government Organization Act for finding the truth about insurrection and holding those responsible strictly to account?"
Some within the party are voicing concerns that the party's strategy is being swayed each time by a hard-line course. When the Democratic Party leadership previously introduced revisions to the Government Organization Act that included dismantling the Prosecutors' Office, it included content that reflected the demands of hard-line lawmakers more than concerns from the government and experts. A prime example is the decision to place the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The reversal of the bipartisan agreement also poured cold water on the momentum to restore cooperative governance. People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok criticized at a party meeting that day the ruling party's scrapping of the special counsel agreement, saying, "The ruling camp's attempt to annihilate the opposition by dragging out the special counsel political situation until next year's local elections will not succeed."
The Democratic Party plans to move to pass the Government Organization Act revision at the plenary session on the 25th. It includes abolishing the Prosecutors' Office, creating the Public Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, and reorganizing some ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Environment. However, with partisan confrontation deepening due to this situation, it is difficult to expect the bill to establish the Financial Supervisory Commission to be handled at the scheduled time. The Democratic Party says it will consider designating it for the fast track (expedited processing).
Senior deputy floor leader for operations Moon Jin-seok said after submitting the Government Organization Act revision to the National Assembly that day, "The Government Organization Act is not about ruling and opposition parties. If the opposition engages in obstruction, we have no choice but to put it on the fast track."
However, even if it is put on the fast track, legislation could be delayed by at least three months. The government is aiming to reorganize the Ministry of Economy and Finance and financial authorities in January next year, but if the bill is pushed through the fast track, it must go through standing committee deliberations (up to 180 days), a review of structure and wording by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (90 days), and placement on the plenary agenda (60 days), making it highly likely that the bill will not pass until after April next year.