Kim Min-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea carried out appointments replacing three key party officials whom former leader Jung Chung-rae had kept on at the end of the term. Inside and outside the Democratic Party, some said, "As soon as Kim took office, he began erasing Jung's imprint through staff appointments," and, "Kim is moving quickly to tighten his grip on the party."
According to the Democratic Party and political circles on the 25th, the party carried out appointments of about 30 officials on the 24th under the name of Secretary-General Han Jeong-ae. They will move to their new posts on Sept. 1.
At every round of personnel moves, the central party's core posts that draw attention are the heads of the organization, strategy, and general affairs bureaus. The Democratic Party conducted regular staff appointments on July 1, just before former leader Jung Chung-rae resigned to run in the party convention. At the time, the heads of the strategic planning bureau and the organization bureau, including the head of the general affairs coordination bureau, all remained in their posts. In response, some said, "It runs counter to the practice that an outgoing leader does not make appointments out of respect for the next leader's appointment authority," and, "Was Jung keeping people he had appointed to look after his own?"
In this round, Kim replaced all three bureau chiefs of organization, strategy, and general affairs who had remained in their posts at the time. Because he replaced, just two months after their reappointment, the key posts responsible for party organization management, election strategy, and finances all at once, some see it as an attempt to erase traces of the Jung leadership and strengthen his control of the party.
In political circles, Kim's push for Democratic Party TV is also seen as a move to strengthen his control of the party. By scheduling live broadcasts at a time slot similar to YouTuber Kim Ou-joon's show, which has strong support from Jung's base, the intent appears to be to keep the influence of the pro-Jung Chung-rae faction in check.
A political source said, "It is unusual to replace the central party's key working-level staff all at once in just two months," adding, "The rapid reshuffle of working-level staff can be seen as reflecting an intent to reorganize the party apparatus under his own system."
Meanwhile, in the previously announced appointments of political appointees, many pro-Myung figures were moved up. Lawmaker Moon Jin-seok, appointed senior deputy secretary-general, is known as an original pro-Myung figure, and Ahn Tae-jun, deputy secretary-general for organization, and Kim Won-i, head of strategic planning, are the same.