Writer Rhyu Si-min appeared on YouTuber Kim Eo-jun's broadcast and took direct aim at President Lee Jae-myung, saying, "What the people who passionately protected and supported him wanted was an extension, but President Lee seems to have tried to do a reconstruction." The remarks are interpreted as Rhyu—who stepped down from his post as standing adviser to the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation and resumed political commentary—joining the Democratic Party's leadership race as a "speaker" to back former party leader Jung Chung-rae. Kim, who is close to Jung, also went on the offensive against Lee's emerging support base, the so-called "New Lee Jae-myung," saying, "The core support base is defecting."
In response, YouTubers leaning pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) launched a counterattack, with the Democratic Party leadership race expanding into a competition among off-stage speakers within the ruling bloc. The phenomenon stems from the introduction of a "one member, one vote" system, which has made party members' votes important in this convention, while YouTubers wield significant influence among the support base. The problem is that this process has accelerated a competition for ideological purity that is hard to watch, with provocative and derogatory remarks pouring out.
Rhyu made these comments while appearing on Kim's YouTube channel "Dasveuida," released on the afternoon of the 26th. There, Rhyu placed the responsibility for the defection of the government and ruling party's support base on President Lee, pointing out, "Wasn't his confidence excessive?" In particular, he described Lee's current situation as "an autoimmune disease," saying, "For about a year, the immune cells have not been attacking and defeating the bacteria and viruses that came from outside, but instead have been attacking their own normal cells." He added, "I diagnose that, as a result, a metabolic disorder is now appearing." His point was that after taking office, Lee tried to embrace even moderate and conservative supporters, which ultimately caused the defection of his core support base.
Kim was no different. On his channel "Humility Is Hard, News Factory," he criticized Lee's recent moves, saying, "The core support base is leaving," and "The 'decoupling' signal in which the president's approval rating and the party's approval rating separate is very dangerous." The core of the "core support base" Kim diagnosed is the pro-Roh and pro-Moon support base. In the broadcast that day, he diagnosed that "(Lee's) act of hitting the pro-Moon faction is the essence of the recent drop in approval ratings."
Jung, who resigned as party leader to seek another term, has been pursuing the closest moves with Kim. Immediately after resigning, Jung posted his statement on resignation on the bulletin board of Ddanzi Ilbo, which Kim runs, actively communicating with users there. He has been pouring all his energy into winning over the core support base Kim mentioned, introducing himself as a "Roh Moo-hyun kid" in his resignation statement and visiting former President Moon Jae-in right after resigning.
Amid fierce backlash from the pro-Lee camp, pro-Lee-leaning YouTubers have also joined in providing rear support. Lee Dong-hyung, who runs Lee Dong-hyung TV, rebutted Kim's "core support base theory," saying, "Can you call them a core base if they waver?" and "They waver because they are soft supporters." Pro-Lee YouTuber Kim Yong-min posted data on his social network service (SNS) refuting Kim's claims point by point, saying, "The recent decline in approval ratings is more in the nature of defection among moderates, those in their 20s and 30s, and the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region." He also criticized Kim, saying, "Now he is committing blatant fraud." Ha Heon-gi, former standing deputy spokesperson of the Democratic Party, criticized, "The bulletin board where Jung writes (Ddanzi Ilbo) has the most forces shaking the president."
As those running popular YouTube broadcasts lead with provocative expressions, the emotional rift among supporters has also deepened. Derogatory terms targeting the opposing camp, such as "Munjotollaeyu" and "Hangang Saettong Dwaejugil," have become everyday language, and they also wage abusive comment campaigns by "marking coordinates" on articles favorable to each candidate. After Rhyu's remarks became known, defamatory comments calling him "Harmful Citizen" and "shameless" poured out in communities where pro-Lee supporters gather. Amid the overheated competition, concerns within the party are also rising. Rep. Ko Min-jung pointed out on a radio broadcast, "There is a problem awareness about politicians being shaken too much by YouTube."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party began full-scale preparations for the convention that day, appointing four-term veteran Rep. Lee Hak-young as chair of the convention preparation committee and Rep. So Byung-hoon as chair of the election management committee at its supreme council meeting. Jung attended a workshop for the Democratic Party's female lawmakers-elect held in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, that day. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok focused on winning over the Honam region's votes by giving a "special lecture on DJ's political theory" at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju. In a survey of party leadership candidate preferences among Democratic Party supporters released by Gallup Korea that day, Prime Minister Kim recorded 45%, former leader Jung 24%, and Rep. Song 15%.
