Rep. Song Young-gil, who has declared his bid for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, launched a sharp attack on his rival, former leader Chung Chung-rae, comparing him to former national soccer team head coach Hong Myung-bo. Pointing to the June 3 local election that Chung led, Song criticized him, saying, "It was more frustrating because it looked like he was doing groundwork for pre-election campaigning to secure his own re-election as party leader, rather than pursuing our party's victory."
Appearing consecutively in interviews on the YouTube channel "Kim Yong-min TV" and Gwangju KBS's "Mudeung's Morning" on the 10th, Song said, "Didn't we lose because we complacently played 'defensive soccer' and 'bed soccer' within a bureaucratic election steering committee system?"
He said, "For example, if we compare Hong and former coach Guus Hiddink as soccer teams, questions like 'Why wasn't Son Heung-min put in (during an important World Cup match)? Why were defenders reinforced instead of attackers being sent in (when losing)?' — the coach's personnel decisions in such areas determine the flow of the game." He added, "In an election, the coach is the party leader, and if the decision on 'which player to field' in a region isn't made properly, it falls apart." He cited as examples the Honam basic-level municipal head elections, the Pyeongtaek-B by-election in Gyeonggi, and the Busan Buk-A by-election, all of which the Democratic Party lost. In particular, regarding Chung's failure to actively support Kim Yong-nam, the candidate for Pyeongtaek-B, Song said, "He just left him neglected," adding, "I don't understand it. I plan to ask about it when we get into the party leader election debate." On the overall nomination process, he said, "There is much criticism that he conducted nominations or the election centered on his own faction," and jabbed, "He handed out 700 to 800 special adviser posts recklessly. So what about the other competitors who didn't get one? Are they somebody else's kids?"
Song also criticized Chung's election strategy, saying, "The insurrection has already ended, Yoon Suk-yeol has been detained and is serving a prison term, yet he kept shouting only about 'ending the insurrection.' So the 2030 generation and the moderate middle-ground people ended up thinking, 'Come on, it's all done. Now present alternatives on the issue of making a living.'"
He said, "There's a back-and-forth going on over whether '(the local election) was a won election, what did we do wrong?' If people with such awareness of the problem form the leadership and lead the party for the next two years, there is great concern that the Democratic Party might lose the general election."
On the issue of a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party, which Chung had pushed, Song said, "I oppose a hasty merger," adding, "We need to see what position the Rebuilding Korea Party holds and whether it agrees with the Democratic Party's platform and policies. If they are identical, we merge; if there are differences, we can form electoral alliances on an issue-by-issue basis." Regarding the Rebuilding Korea Party, he revealed a critical view of the party's operation centered on former leader Cho Kuk, saying, "Even Kim Il-sung didn't call it the 'Kim Il-sung Party,'" and, "They should change the party name too."
Regarding the issue of "abolishing supplementary investigation authority," on which a party position has effectively been reached, he said, "It's regrettable that within the party, this was weaponized politically to create division — treating 'absolute abolition of supplementary investigation authority' as the embodiment of reform, and attacking even the president as anti-reform for even slightly opposing it." He added, "I think taking a deliberative stance would have been the proper posture for a ruling party." However, on the abolition of supplementary investigation authority itself, he said, "I have consistently held the position that supplementary investigation authority need not remain with the prosecution. Let's supplement it with the authority to request supplementary investigation."
