Kim Nam-joon, the Blue House Spokesperson and a closest aide to President Lee Jae-myung, will resign on the 20th. With his last official day in the office that day, his resignation will be accepted on the 23rd. At a book launch next month, he will make official his bid for the Gyeyang B by-election in Incheon and begin campaigning. Gyeyang was Lee's constituency when he served as a lawmaker, and on Christmas last year, Lee visited a church in the area with Kim. This prompted talk of a "succession of the constituency."
The former Spokesperson served as a key adviser during Lee's tenures as Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor and is considered Lee's "alter ego," the aide who best reads the president's mind. When Lee led the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), he served as chief of the party leader's political affairs office, and right after last year's presidential election, he worked in close proximity as head of the first executive office. Following an organizational reshuffle, he moved in September of the same year to become Blue House Spokesperson, forming a two-person system with Kang Yu-jung.
The political world is watching the reinstatement of former Democratic Party of Korea leader Song Young-gil. Song left the party over the "cash envelopes at the party convention" suspicion, was acquitted on appeal recently, and applied to rejoin. A five-term lawmaker from Gyeyang, he has already filed his move to the district. He aims to return to Yeouido by running in the June 3 local elections, setting up a nomination contest with the Spokesperson. As a former party leader, he could also emerge as a detonator for a reshaping of the ruling party's power structure, including the next leadership race.
Some see this as a chance to "coordinate" nominations in the Incheon area. Specifically, there is talk that either the former leader Song or the former Spokesperson Kim could run in lawmaker Park Chan-dae's district of Incheon Yeonsu A, as Park is preparing a bid for Incheon mayor instead of Gyeyang B. That is because the DPK has decided to strategically nominate candidates without an internal primary for the parliamentary by-elections held alongside the local races. For now, however, both are aiming to run in Gyeyang B.
Within the party, public opinions are already out on who should get the nomination letter. The argument is to strategically nominate former leader Song, who handed the constituency to President Lee. At a press conference the previous day, lawmaker Kim Jun-hyeok said, "Returning the seat to former leader Song, who chose to leave the party to avoid burdening it, is a reward for his sacrifices and a political duty." Lawmaker Moon Geum-ju also shared on social media a statement from the Catholic Justice and Peace Solidarity titled "The starting point of Song Young-gil's political resurrection should be Gyeyang," saying, "I am reposting it as a fine piece."
Others say that as a senior figure who served as party leader, he should go to a different region. In addition to Yeonsu A, Pyeongtaek B in Gyeonggi is being mentioned. Pyeongtaek B became vacant after former DPK lawmaker Lee Byung-jin lost his seat over violations of the Public Official Election Act. However, this is also where Kim Yong, the former deputy head of the Democratic Research Institute and known as "the president's alter ego," is being floated as a candidate. He was detained on charges including violating the Political Funds Act and was released on bail in Aug. last year, but 200 politicians, including party leadership, crowded only his book concert as the president's closest aide. That shows how difficult internal coordination will be.
With the former Spokesperson's bid, the Blue House Spokesperson post will be run by a single person for the time being. However, given the vast workload, including the president's social media messages and schedule, a successor Spokesperson is reportedly being sought. A Blue House official said, "The Spokesperson submitted a resignation letter this morning, and it is slated to be accepted on Monday," adding, "Once the resignation is accepted next week, he will actively and earnestly pursue a run in the Gyeyang B by-election."