Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Song Young-gil is gearing up to return to Yeouido. After being acquitted on all counts in the second trial over allegations of distributing cash envelopes at the party convention, he is preparing to run in the by-election to be held in June.
Song is initially considering running in Incheon Gyeyang B, his home turf. Amid shifting power dynamics within the party and the prospect of a close aide to President Lee Jae-myung running in the special and by-elections, the calculus for the party and the Blue House has also grown complicated.
According to political circles on the 19th, Song plans to run in Incheon Gyeyang B in the special and by-elections to be held alongside the local elections in June. It is said that Song recently secured a residence in Incheon's Gyeyang District to run in Gyeyang B.
On the 13th, after being acquitted on appeal in the cash envelope case, Song expressed his intention to rejoin the Democratic Party's Incheon City chapter. Song won five consecutive terms in Incheon Gyeyang B from the 16th National Assembly in 2000 through the 17th, 18th, 20th, and 21st National Assemblies. During the 19th National Assembly, he served as Incheon mayor.
Incheon Gyeyang B is also President Lee's constituency for the 21st and 22nd National Assemblies, but it remains a stronghold for Song. In the 2022 local elections, Song ran for Seoul mayor and yielded Gyeyang B to President Lee Jae-myung, who had just lost the presidential race, opening the way for Lee to enter the Assembly. Local networks are still said to be filled with Song's people. Political observers say that even if candidates for the special and by-elections hold a primary, Song stands on favorable ground.
Within the pro-Lee Jae-myung camp, some argue the party should repay the favor, noting that Song helped President Lee make a comeback. Kim Jun-hyuk, a Democratic Party lawmaker aligned with the pro-Lee faction, held a news conference at the National Assembly on the 19th and said, "Song is the figure who willingly gave up his constituency so that President Lee Jae-myung could enter the National Assembly and then left for a tough district," adding, "Returning a parliamentary seat in the by-election to be held in June is a fair reward for that sacrifice."
For the Democratic Party leadership centered on leader Jung Chung-rae, Song's return may be unwelcome. If Song reenters the Assembly, he would become the party's most-senior sixth-term lawmaker, potentially serving as a new focal point for the pro-Lee camp and aiming for the next party leadership. For leader Jung, who had been preparing for the party convention in August while checking Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, this would mean one more rival for party control.
From the Blue House's perspective, preparations for the special and by-elections could also get tangled. Political circles had initially expected Kim Nam-joon, the Blue House Spokesperson and a close aide in the "Seongnam line" of President Lee, to run in Incheon Gyeyang B. With Song's emergence, Kim is likely to turn his eyes to another district. In Incheon, Yeonsu A—held by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Chan-dae, who has formalized a run for Incheon mayor—is expected to become a special and by-election district.
A Democratic Party official said, "I see Song's immediate mention of rejoining the party after the second-trial ruling as a signal of his intent to run," adding, "After some coordination among potential candidates for Gyeyang B, which was President Lee's constituency, the field is expected to be sorted out."