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Kim Byung-ki, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly marking his 100th day in office on September 21. / Source: Song Ui-joo

Marking his 100th day in office, Kim Byung-ki, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), pledged on September 21 to push ahead with key reforms while vowing to eradicate what he called “insurrection forces.”

At a press conference in the National Assembly, Kim declared, “Without accountability and truth-finding on the insurrection, restoring normalcy in the Republic of Korea is impossible. We will root out the forces behind it.”

Kim outlined the DP’s legislative priorities, including passage of the government reorganization bill to stabilize the Cabinet, advancing media and judicial reforms, abolishing the crime of breach of trust, and ensuring next year’s budget is passed on time. On concerns surrounding a possible dedicated insurrection tribunal and reports of meetings between Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, he stressed, “Relieving public anxiety must come first.”

He also issued a pointed warning to the judiciary: “There is growing public concern that insurrection ringleader Yoon Suk-yeol could be released again in January. The judiciary must recognize that most citizens no longer trust its handling of insurrection trials.” Kim insisted that creating a special tribunal would not be an attack on the courts but “a defensive measure for the people and for ending the insurrection.”

On relations with the opposition People Power Party (PPP), Kim said, “We will cooperate on livelihood issues, but there will be no tolerance for those tied to the insurrection. We will strictly separate insurrection from livelihood politics.” He dismissed the PPP’s rally in Daegu the same day as “baseless,” arguing, “If they want to hold street protests, they must first show remorse and accept responsibility for the insurrection.”

Kim criticized the PPP’s consideration of a filibuster to block the government reorganization bill, saying, “They even threaten to filibuster bills already agreed upon. A party that disregards people’s livelihoods cannot survive.”

On abolishing the breach of trust statute, Kim stated, “Our goal is to achieve this during the regular session.” He noted that proposals include supplementing corporate law and criminal law after repeal or addressing issues through separate legislation if problems arise. Deputy floor policy chief Heo Young added that the principle of abolishing the crime was clear, saying the party would finalize measures following party-government consultations in September.

Looking ahead to the first parliamentary audit under the Lee administration, Kim said the DP’s focus would be “eradicating insurrection and restoring livelihoods.” He announced that the party would establish a “Judicial Abuse Reporting Center” within its audit situation room to gather and publicize cases of citizens allegedly harmed by prosecutorial misconduct.