Ruling Party Leader Looking Down at Region, Gyeonggi Governor Looking Up at Center

Tensions between Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae are escalating across both central politics and provincial government.

As Governor Choo publicly criticized President Lee Jae-myung and the government over central political issues including the appointment of the Chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office and prosecution reform, Party Leader Kim has repeatedly raised issues regarding Governor Choo's election consulting contract and the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, among other Gyeonggi Province matters. The political conflict is expanding from national politics to provincial affairs.

Governor Choo raised her voice on central politics early on.

On the 10th, Governor Choo evaluated President Lee's nomination of Kim Ji-yong as the inaugural Chief of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office as "the height of contradiction" and publicly raised issues. When questioned about the causes of the President's declining approval rating, she directly addressed the prosecution reform issue and criticized the government's direction on reform.

Subsequently, her remarks became more pointed. Governor Choo criticized President Lee, saying he was "nervously dependent on these forces" while discussing the appointment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Office Chief and response to seditious forces.

While it is not unusual for Democratic Party-affiliated provincial leaders to voice opinions on government policies, as the head of the nation's largest metropolitan province, Governor Choo's repeated public criticism of the President's personnel decisions and direction of state affairs became an internal party conflict.

Party Leader Kim directly intervened.

On the 14th, Kim responded to Governor Choo's remarks by saying it was "a time to unite our strength," referencing the impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun. He questioned how these remarks could be accepted as coming from a party elder or provincial governor.

Until this point, the ruling party leader appeared to be managing criticism of the President from within the party, but thereafter, Kim's issues shifted to provincial affairs under Governor Choo's responsibility.

On the 18th, Party Leader Kim said he would examine the appropriateness of the price and contract details of the consulting agreement Governor Choo made with a political consulting firm during the June 3 local elections.

Noting that public funds were involved in the contract, he stated the party had public responsibility to examine whether the consulting fee matched the value of services actually provided and to scrutinize the transparency of the contract process. He also indicated the party could be involved if problems were identified.

A day later, he directly targeted Gyeonggi Province's cultural policies.

On the 19th, Party Leader Kim met with young filmmakers in Gwangju and criticized Gyeonggi Province's decision to scale down the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival due to financial circumstances, calling it "in a sense, a breach of contract" and saying there were "problems."

Gyeonggi Province responded immediately.

The province countered that the film festival was trapped in a high-cost operating structure dependent on provincial funds and that audience performance was poor relative to budget investment, arguing that the scaled-back operation was a measure to normalize the project. The conflict between the party leader and the provincial head expanded beyond prosecution reform and presidential appointments to disputes over the feasibility of specific Gyeonggi Province projects.

The two figures' movements also present a symmetrical pattern.

Governor Choo, as a provincial leader responsible for Gyeonggi Province's finances and livelihood, has repeatedly spoken out on central political issues including prosecution reform and presidential appointments. Conversely, Party Leader Kim, who leads the entire ruling party, has publicly raised issues about Governor Choo's election consulting contract and the operating methods of Gyeonggi Province cultural projects.

As Governor Choo's remarks on central politics intensify, Party Leader Kim's response deepens into provincial affairs.

However, even as the two figures are in political conflict, they cannot afford to turn their backs administratively.

Gyeonggi Province is requesting the government and political circles to increase the local consumption tax rate and allocate a portion of the national corporate tax to metropolitan provinces to expand local finances. On the 26th of last month, Governor Choo proposed at a Central-Local Cooperation Conference presided over by President Lee to raise the local consumption tax rate from the current 25.3 percent to 40 percent and to allocate a portion of corporate tax to metropolitan provinces.

Governor Choo needs cooperation from the government and the ruling party, and Party Leader Kim must also maintain policy and budget coordination with Gyeonggi Province, the nation's largest metropolitan province.

One political insider said, "Both should achieve results in their own domains and combine forces to create synergy, but they are not doing so," adding, "If senior leaders do not step in and resolve this early, the conflict could extend to the general election."