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Jung Chung-rae dampens hopes of bipartisan cooperation

Published: 10 Sep. 2025, 00:00

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae delivers a policy speech at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 9. [YONHAP]

The rare spirit of cooperation created by a meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and party leaders on Monday lasted barely a day. Democratic Party (DP) leader Jung Chung-rae, in his address to the National Assembly on Tuesday, launched a sharp attack on the People Power Party (PPP). He demanded PPP lawmakers apologize for their role in the martial law crisis and went so far as to suggest the party could face dissolution by the Constitutional Court.

The speech sparked an uproar. Opposition lawmakers shouted back, and PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk denounced the remarks as “a declaration of war on the main opposition party.” Only a day earlier, the leaders of both parties had shaken hands with the president. Now, they were back to pointing fingers.

Jung, who initially refused even to shake hands with the president after being elected party leader, had briefly seemed receptive to Lee’s call for cooperation. But his sincerity is now in question. The pledge he made to “give more since we have received more,” in response to Lee’s appeal for compromise, has already been discarded.

Concerns about Jung’s unilateral style extend beyond rhetoric. His approach has raised alarms about encroaching on executive authority. At a high-level ruling party-government meeting on Sunday, he clashed with Political Affairs Secretary Woo Sang-ho over prosecutorial reform. Even after the government agreed to dismantle the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and place a new investigative body under the Interior Ministry, Jung insisted the party should directly shape follow-up legislation. Woo reportedly raised his voice, asking pointedly whether Jung understood whose authority he was undermining.

Jung’s confidence borders on overreach. He has promised to deliver “the good news” of abolishing the prosecutors’ office by the Chuseok harvest festival despite constitutional concerns. He has dismissed warnings from within his own party about proposals to expand the Supreme Court and create a special tribunal for insurrection cases. On media reform, he continues to defend punitive damages and other sweeping regulations, claiming he will protect journalists’ honor by eliminating fake news — an argument even progressive media outlets reject.

His address amounted to a declaration that the ruling party will govern unilaterally, ignoring the opposition. Lee’s vow to “listen to the people’s voice through the opposition” at the bipartisan meeting seemed forgotten. Since Lee took office, the Democratic Party has pushed legislation without compromise. As party leader, Jung bears the heaviest responsibility.

Jung’s own warning that “absolute monopoly leads to absolute corruption” may be a message he should direct inward.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.