Rep. Kim Byung-kee, the newly elected floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, delivers his acceptance speech at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday. (Yonhap)
Rep. Kim Byung-kee, the newly elected floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, delivers his acceptance speech at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday. (Yonhap)

Rep. Kim Byung-kee, a three-term lawmaker widely regarded as President Lee Jae-myung’s ally, was elected Friday as the new floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

The party said Kim won a majority of votes in an internal election, defeating Rep. Seo Young-kyo, a four-term lawmaker.

“I believe party members and fellow lawmakers elected me with the hope that I would become a bridgehead for the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration,” Kim said in his acceptance speech at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.

“I will carry forward the will of the people, complete the reforms, and lay the groundwork for restoring livelihoods, boosting economic growth and achieving national unity.”

Kim has pledged to root out so-called “insurrectionist forces” linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law declaration on Dec. 3 last year. He has also vowed to push ahead with swift reforms of the prosecution, judiciary and media.

The 63-year-old entered politics in 2016 when he won a seat in Seoul’s Dongjak constituency, where he went on to serve three consecutive terms. Before his political career, he spent 26 years at the National Intelligence Service.

Kim is widely recognized as a key pro-Lee Jae-myung figure within the party.

He led the campaign team for then-candidate Lee during the 2022 presidential election and served as the party’s senior deputy secretary-general from 2022 to 2024, during Lee’s tenure as party chair.

Kim gained national attention in 2023 for strongly defending Lee when the National Assembly voted on a motion to arrest him.

At the time, he sharply criticized party members who supported the motion, saying, “History will remember today as the day Democratic Party lawmakers became dogs.”

In the lead-up to the 2024 general election, Kim served as secretary of the party’s nomination committee, reportedly playing a key role in reorganizing the party’s structure under pro-Lee leadership.


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