Targeting Rhyu Si-min: “Many have turned into opportunists” ... Criticism pours in from ruling party

[Financial News] Complaints are pouring out, particularly from the pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae Myung) faction within the Democratic Party of Korea, over writer Rhyu Si-min’s remarks criticizing President Lee Jae Myung by comparing him to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, including his claim that Lee “is dismantling the camp that made him president.” The party leadership, however, appears to be refraining from a direct response.

On the 28th, Rhyu appeared on the YouTube channel Park Si-young TV and criticized Lee, saying, “For a year and a half, President Lee has kept taking the path of isolating himself. The result is the breakup of his political camp,” and “Nearly one-third of even the Democratic Party’s supporters have turned their backs on him.”
He also repeatedly criticized President Lee and the government and ruling party, saying, “Yoon Suk Yeol the beetle dismantled his entire home, and now the current government and President Lee Jae Myung are doing exactly the same thing.” He also said, “The approval rating shows that the president does not enjoy public confidence.”
Pro-Lee lawmakers are publicly criticizing Rhyu’s remarks. On the 29th, Rep. Kim Young-jin, known as an original pro-Lee figure, said on SBS’s Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show, “At this point, it’s like saying, ‘Let’s go all the way,’” and asked, “If the Lee Jae Myung administration fails and power is handed to the party that imposed martial law again, will Minister Rhyu be free of responsibility for that?”
Supreme Council member Jeon Yong-gi also appeared on MBC radio’s Kim Jong-bae’s Focus and criticized the situation, saying, “The president did not cause this conflict, which arose from the nomination for the Pyeongtaek B constituency in Gyeonggi Province,” and, “There were plenty of signs that it could be seen as a fight over shares between the Democratic Party and the Innovation Party. What’s the point of the president trying so hard?”
Supreme Council member Jeon also wrote on his social media (SNS), “Even remarks that undermine the president cannot be accepted as sincere advice for the sake of unity,” and argued, “Demanding concessions only from the president and even bringing up his term on the basis of approval ratings is instead an act that causes division.”
Rep. Kim Hyun, targeting Rhyu, said, “Many people who took part in the pro-democracy movement later became opportunists,” adding, “Even more heinous is betraying one’s principles—bending one’s integrity and convictions.”

The party leadership, however, appears to be avoiding direct confrontation with Rhyu. A party leadership official told Newsis on the 30th, “If party leader Kim and Rhyu engage in a one-on-one exchange of immediate responses, we need to move toward grand unity, but that could get in the way,” adding, “It’s a situation where we can’t simply say nothing, but it’s also difficult to respond completely candidly.”
The official said, “If [party leader Kim] doesn’t speak boldly, people may say his response is ‘not satisfying’; if he responds exactly as things stand, he could be criticized with the question, ‘Why are you fomenting division?’” The official added, “We need to minimize messages in direct response and quickly shift to a new agenda.”
Earlier, on the 29th, party leader Kim Min-seok also said in a phone interview on the party’s official YouTube channel, Democratic Party TV, “There are difficulties both inside and outside the party. At times like this, the best thing is not to answer divisive language with more divisive language, but to use language that is even a little less divisive.” He added, “I think we need to exercise restraint so as not to make the problem worse, and I intend to do that as well.”
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter