Kim Min-seok, the prime minister and a contender for the Democratic Party of Korea leadership, and party leader Jung Chung-rae visited the ceremony for the 26th anniversary of the June 15 inter-Korean summit side by side. It was a gathering of figures from the Donggyo-dong faction, the party's elder group, and a move to gain "legitimacy" from a long-standing bloc of party members ahead of the national convention. Although the two visited the same venue, they reportedly arranged their schedules so they would not run into each other at all. It reflects the escalating fight for the next power center within the ruling camp.
Kim arrived at the Kim Dae-jung Library in Mapo District, where the ceremony was held, at about 1:49 p.m. on the 15th. He exchanged greetings in turn with elders of the Donggyo-dong faction, including former senior adviser Kwon No-gap and former lawmakers Moon Hee-sang, Namgung Jin, and Kim Ok-doo.
The Donggyo-dong faction refers to the camp of former President Kim Dae-jung. It was a retinue that helped DJ win election, and the name comes from the fact that Kim's residence was in Donggyo-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Most of the Donggyo-dong aides at the time now serve as elders, such as senior advisers, in the Democratic Party. On this day, former lawmaker Kim Ok-doo was said to have conveyed to Kim the message to "work hard to assist the president."
Kim then exchanged greetings with Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik. However, he left the venue immediately without giving a separate message to reporters. Around the same time, Jung arrived at the venue, but the two did not cross paths. As the presidential office and the ruling party openly clash over responsibility for the June 3 local election "Seoul and Busan losses," a clearer confrontation over the next party leadership has also taken shape, with Kim and Jung as focal points.
Arriving right after Kim left, Jung emphasized the meaning of the June 15 Joint Declaration and called out and praised, one by one, the key negotiators of the time, including former Minister Lim Dong-won and lawmaker Park Ji-won. He added, "I would like to share not only today's declaration but also the stories of the very peacemakers who produced that declaration," mentioning former ministers Lim Dong-won, Jeong Se-hyun, and Park Jae-kyu.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young also attended the event. In the past, when Jung was a first-term lawmaker of the Uri Party, he supported Chung, then a leading presidential contender, and played a key role in the so-called "DY faction." In the 2007 presidential election, he also served as a core adviser in Chung's campaign.
After introducing his ties with the minister, Jung said, "The Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang are the breathing holes of peace and the bump stops that prevent war," adding, "If the Kaesong Industrial Complex is completed as planned and 300,000 North Korean workers and 30,000 South Korean workers work together, that will itself be unification and peace." He also said, "I cannot forget the moment on June 13, 2000, when President Kim Dae-jung set foot at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang."
He also mentioned President Lee Jae-myung. Jung said, "There is President Lee Jae-myung, who took the baton from President Kim Dae-jung," adding, "He describes himself as a pacemaker, but I am convinced he is the 'peacemaker' who best embodies the spirit of President Kim Dae-jung."