Is Jung Chung-rae Lee Jae Myung’s awl?

 

Kim Seung-hyun
 
The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.
 
 
The word “awl” seems to capture the type of talent President Lee Jae Myung seeks for his administration. When announcing new appointments such as Park Jin-young as head of the Committee for Cultural Exchange in Popular Music, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik conveyed the president’s request. Lee asked public officials to become his eyes and ears, to examine the field carefully, to imagine bold changes not previously considered and to act as awls that pierce through limitations.
 
Lee himself wants to display this piercing ability. At Cabinet meetings, town halls and on-site gatherings, he listens to contentious issues in detail and fires rapid questions. He identifies the points that matter and drives through them with a single strike. During reports on flood damage, he singled out storm drain covers that clog whenever it rains. Anticipating excuses from local governments about costs, he proposed: “The state will provide funds, but if the drains clog, you will face disciplinary measures.” He cannot tolerate solvable problems left unaddressed. This is the “awl role” he expects from public servants.
 

President Lee Jae Myung watches as Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae and People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok shake hands during a luncheon with ruling and opposition leaders at the presidential office in Yongsan on Sept. 8. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 
Sometimes the awl is directed at himself. At a Cabinet meeting, no one knew the penalties for employers violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Lee remarked, “This is our problem. With so many of us here, no one knows. I am also at fault.” His method is to ask questions until contradictions become clear, pushing others and himself to find answers. Subordinates describe his style as intimidating, which is why those who have worked with him often call him a “frightening person.”
 
His hands-on approach largely targets the bureaucracy, but the same expectation extends to politics. At a meeting with ruling and opposition leaders on Sept. 8, Lee orchestrated a handshake between Democratic Party (DP) leader Jung Chung-rae and People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok. His reasoning was straightforward: cooperation demanded by the public is impossible without recognizing the opposition. The handshake symbolized using an awl to break the deadlock in partisan conflict.
 

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But the moment was short-lived. The next day, Jung pointed his finger back at the PPP during a National Assembly speech. “If you cannot sever ties with insurrectionist forces, your party may face dissolution for violating the Constitution,” he warned. While asking for a sincere apology was within bounds, lumping the entire main opposition into the category of insurrectionists showed little intent for cooperation. His statement also contradicted Lee’s proposal that those with more should share more. Instead of striking a new point, Jung dug into an old wound.
 
The qualities of an “awl” appear more vividly among dissenting figures inside the DP. Kwak Sang-eon, son-in-law of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, wrote on Facebook, “YouTube power is wielding political power.” His remarks targeted Kim Eo-jun’s influential YouTube channel and its fandom politics, which few inside the party dare to challenge. Kwak argued, “YouTube power is attempting self-deification, approaching religious authority.” His words pierced a taboo within the party.
 

ChatGPT의 말: Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae delivers a policy speech for his parliamentary negotiation bloc during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Sept. 9. Jung continued his strong criticism of the People Power Party. [YONHAP]

 
Another example is Park Hee-seung, a DP lawmaker and former judge, who openly criticized the plan to establish a special tribunal on insurrection. “For the National Assembly to directly attack the courts and rewrite the law is the same as former president Yoon Suk Yeol ignoring the separation of powers and entering the Assembly with guns under martial law,” he said.
 
These figures tell allies who are treated like demigods, “No,” while also learning lessons from the faults of adversaries. Their boldness contrasts sharply with the DP’s recent tendency to fall into the trap of “one team” thinking. Such awls, sticking out against the grain, are what Korea needs if Lee’s vision of a “nation growing through pragmatism” is to be realized.


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.