Since taking office on the 17th, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok has been making memorial visits every day. After visiting, in turn, the graves of former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, regarded as "towering figures" in the party, he also paid respects at the graves of former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and former senior adviser Kim Geun-tae. Having gone through a "legitimacy controversy" during the party convention, Kim appears to be moving to establish the authority of the party leader.
On the morning of the 20th, the fourth day of his tenure, Kim visited the grave of the former prime minister at Sejong Eunhasu Park. He then went to Namyangju, Gyeonggi, to visit the grave of the former senior adviser. The visit to the grave of the former senior adviser was joined by the former senior adviser's spouse, former lawmaker In Jae-keun, and son-in-law Kim Dong-gyu.
After paying respects, Kim told reporters, "Both are elders of the democratic camp and have a very special historical bond," adding, "I will do my best to carry on the pride of Kim Geun-tae and Lee Hae-chan and firmly support the Democratic Party."
In the days immediately after taking office, Kim has been visiting the graves of symbolic figures of the democratic camp. On the 18th, the very next day after taking office, he attended a memorial service for former President Kim Dae-jung. On the 19th, he visited Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, to pay respects at the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun. The same day, he also paid a courtesy call on former President Moon Jae-in at Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang.
In political circles, there is talk that Kim's "memorial visits" are aimed at dispelling the "legitimacy controversy" that arose during the party convention. Kim was repeatedly attacked by his rival, lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, over the "Hoodanhyeop (Candidates' Unification Promotion Council) incident." The claim was that in the 2002 presidential election, Kim helped candidate Chung Mong-joon instead of Roh Moo-hyun, amounting to a kind of "betrayal."
That day, at the graves of the former prime minister and the former senior adviser, Kim directly mentioned the Hoodanhyeop incident. Kim said, "During the election of the late president, I decided to leave the party for unification, but it weighed on me that I couldn't tell the former prime minister and I felt sorry," adding, "I took a beating over the Hoodanhyeop process, but it was a comfort when someone said (the former senior adviser) said, 'Min-seok is in a tough spot.'"
Having finished paying respects to Democratic Party elders, Kim is expected to focus on party affairs starting with an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Gangneung, Gangwon, on the 21st. The visit to Gangneung is seen as targeting the National Assembly by-election to be held on Apr. 7 next year following former lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong's loss of his seat.