For President Lee Jae Myung, the election of Kim Min-seok as ruling party leader removes one potential source of political friction, even as it leaves the unity within the party unresolved. Kim, who served as the first prime minister of the Lee administration, is expected to maintain close coordination with the presidential office as he takes the helm of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Having worked alongside Lee on key policy issues, Kim enters the job with an established working relationship with the president. Kim made close coordination with the Lee administration a key campaign message, arguing that friction between the ruling party and the presidential office would hurt the government as well as the president. His message appears to have resonated particularly as approval ratings for both Lee and the ruling party have weakened in recent weeks. Kim campaigned as a leader who would work in step with the government rather than seek to differentiate the party from the president. Political commentator Eom Kyeong-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, said the leadership