 ▲ 청와대 ©뉴시스 |
유럽 순방을 마친 이재명 대통령이 18일 귀국하는 가운데 공항 환영 행사에 김민석 총리·정청래 대표 등 더불어민주당 지도부가 참석한다고 청와대가 17일 전했다.
강유정 수석대변인은 이날 오후 언론 공지를 통해 "대통령 귀국 환영 행사에 김 총리·행정안전부 차관 등 정부 인사와 정 대표·한병도 원내대표 등 민주당 지도부가 참석 예정"이라며 이같이 전했다.
앞서 지난 9일 이 대통령 유럽행 출국 행사 당시 김 총리 등 내각 인사는 참석한 반면 통상 배웅을 나왔던 민주당 지도부는 불참하면서 배경을 둘러싼 갖은 추측이 일었다.
청와대는 당시 이와 관련해 '환송 인원 최소화' 방침에 따른 것이라 전했지만 오는 8월 민주당 전당대회를 앞둔데다 6·3 지방선거 지도부 책임론 및 여권 지지율 동반 하락 추세 등이 맞물리면서 여러 추측을 낳고 있다. 김 총리와 정 대표가 차기 당권 경쟁 관계인 점도 일조한다.
특히 당 대표 연임 도전을 시사한 정 대표가 대통령 순방 중 "국민은 영원하고 정권은 짧다" 발언을 내놓자 이 대통령도 지난 13일(현지시간) 엑스(X·구 트위터)에 "여당 열정은 진영 아닌 국민 전체를 향해야 한다"며 민주당 지도부를 겨냥했다.
민주당 지도부의 공항 환영 행사 참석은 차기 당권 구도와 맞물린 여권 내 복잡한 갈등기류가 수면 위로 부상한 형국인 가운데 봉합을 위한 대외적 불식 차원 모양새를 띠고 있어 향배가 주목된다.
영문 기사의 [전문]입니다. '구글번역'은 이해도 높이기를 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 영문 번역에 오류가 있을 수 있음을 전제로 합니다.<*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by 'Google Translate'. 'Google Trworking hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.
Blue House: "Kim Min-seok and Jeong Cheong-rae Attend Welcome Event for President's Return from European Tour Together"
While Prime Minister Kim and other cabinet members attended the departure ceremony, the Democratic Party leadership, who usually come to see them off, was absent. This appears to be an external attempt to dispel tensions amidst the surfacing of internal conflicts within the ruling party intertwined with the power struggle for the next party leadership.
-kihong Kim reporter
The Blue House announced on the 17th that the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, including Prime Minister Kim Min-suk and Party Leader Chung Cheong-rae, will attend the airport welcoming ceremony as President Lee Jae-myung returns on the 18th following his European tour.
Senior Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung conveyed this information via a press announcement this afternoon, stating, "Government officials, including Prime Minister Kim and the Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety, as well as Democratic Party leaders such as Party Leader Chung and Floor Leader Han Byung-do, are scheduled to attend the welcoming ceremony for the President's return."
Previously, during President Lee's departure ceremony for Europe on the 9th, cabinet members including Prime Minister Kim attended, while the Democratic Party leadership, who typically come out to see him off, was absent, sparking various speculations regarding the reasons behind this.
At the time, the Blue House explained that this was in accordance with a policy to "minimize the number of people seeing off the president." However, the timing is fueling further speculation as the Democratic Party's national convention is approaching in August, coupled with calls for the leadership to take responsibility for the June 3 local elections and a trend of declining approval ratings for the ruling party. The fact that Prime Minister Kim and Party Leader Chung are rivals for the next party leadership also contributes to the speculation.
In particular, after Representative Chung, who has hinted at seeking a second term as party leader, remarked during the President's overseas trip that "the people are eternal, but the administration is short," President Lee also targeted the Democratic Party leadership on the 13th (local time) via X (formerly Twitter), stating, "The ruling party's passion must be directed toward the entire nation, not just its faction."
The attendance of the Democratic Party leadership at the airport welcoming ceremony appears to be an attempt to quell external tensions and mend the complex currents of conflict within the ruling party, which are intertwined with the structure of the next party leadership, and thus the direction of the event is attracting attention.
