Lee Hae-chan, in a private meeting, says "I will enforce discipline... Expresses condolences to the victims"

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, reportedly stated that he will "restore party discipline" in relation to the Park Won-soon Seoul Mayor incident.

Kang Hoon-sik, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said at a briefing after a closed-door high-level strategy meeting at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 13th, "There was a remark regarding the lax discipline of the leader (Lee) concerning the consecutive incidents. He said that party discipline must be restored."

According to Spokesperson Kang, Lee said, "I deeply feel responsible for the administrative gap caused by the unexpected event. I express my condolences for the pain of the women who have suffered. I apologize for the situation that has come to this," and added, "The party will ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future. Considering the urgency and seriousness of the matter, I spoke before the regular meeting."

However, Spokesperson Kang said regarding specific measures, "We will discuss slowly," and "We need to look into matters related to discipline." When asked if a separate fact-finding committee would be formed, he replied, "(Not yet)." When asked if there was a decision to apologize directly to the victims, he answered, "That discussion did not take place today." He added, "We will investigate and look into any facts or matters that need to be examined. (The party) was not aware of the details beforehand."

Meanwhile, until the morning of the same day, the Democratic Party leadership's stance was that "mourning for Mayor Park takes priority." At the highest-level meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Lee said, "This morning, Mayor Park's online funeral was held. Yesterday, I paid respects to General Baek Seon-yeop," and added, "I understand there is controversy surrounding the funerals of the two. Even so, I think it is best to approach the funeral period with a mutual spirit of mourning and a mindset of nurturing the community together."

On the Blue House's national petition board, a petition titled "Opposing a five-day funeral and Seoul Special Mayor’s funeral for Park Won-soon" has garnered over 560,000 supporters as of that day.