Prime Minister Kim Min-seok warned, in connection with rising factional strife within the party ahead of the August national convention, that "there are cases where people criticize the president with excessive confidence, as if they made the president," adding, "attitude and mindset need to be properly restrained."
Kim told reporters at the Democratic Party of Korea women's winners workshop held in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, on the morning of the 27th that the internal conflict is "something that can happen ahead of a (party leader) election, and a phenomenon arising from lingering disappointment over the (local) election results."
Kim's mention of "excessive confidence" that day is interpreted as remarks aimed at the old mainstream faction in the Democratic Party, including writer Yoo Si-min.
Yoo appeared on the YouTube show "Kim Ou-joon's Dasboeida" the previous day and said, "What those who fervently protected and supported Lee on the way to becoming president wanted was an extension, but it seems the president tried to do a reconstruction," adding, "Wasn't the president overly confident?"
Kim also assessed the results of the June 3 local elections, which were led by former Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae. He said, "The (results) slipped," adding, "If you lose the heartland, it will be hard to win going forward. If we are not careful, a sense of anxiety has set in that we might end up remaining the opposition party like this."
He then added, "I want to help build a Democratic Party that wins again," and "I worked hard for a year on secondment to the government, and I thought it was time to return to the party."
When asked by reporters about the possibility of running in the August national convention, Kim drew a line, saying, "After I return to the party, I will speak when the time comes."