Lee Jae-myung, Meeting Successive Party Leadership Candidates, Says "The Party Must Be Reborn Anew"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (left) and Woo Won-shik, candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea leader

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Woo Won-sik and Hong Young-pyo, members of the Democratic Party running for party leader, met consecutively on the 13th with Lee Jae-myung, the prominent presidential candidate within the party and Governor of Gyeonggi Province.

They analyzed the causes of the crushing defeat in the April 7 by-elections, saying, "We need to move forward with additive politics, not subtractive politics" (Hong Young-pyo) and "The failure was due to not listening to criticism" (Woo Won-sik).

In response, Governor Lee Jae-myung urged, "Regain the trust of the people and implement policies centered on people's livelihoods." He also emphasized fairness and anti-corruption, his trademark themes.

The meeting took place in the form of party leadership candidates visiting Governor Lee at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government during their attendance at the Democratic Party members' general meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council.

Woo, who met Governor Lee first, said, "I think the cause of the by-election defeat was that we did not properly listen to the public's sentiment and criticism," adding, "In the remaining year, we really need to work on changing the painful lives of the people."

He continued, "The Democratic Party has been maintained well on the two pillars of democracy and peace, but on the other hand, people's lives have become very difficult, polarization has deepened, and after going through COVID-19, livelihoods have fallen into crisis. Therefore, on top of those values, we now need to firmly place the value of people's livelihoods at the center," adding, "Just as during President Kim Dae-jung's time, the value of people's livelihoods is a very traditional value for our party."

In response, Governor Lee said, "The party must be reborn anew," and "Fundamentally, the party must fear the people."

He added, "Trust seems to be really important," saying, "The core is keeping promises, and internal abuse of power or corruption elements should be more strictly handled. We need to pay more attention to practical livelihood reforms that improve the real lives of our people."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (left) and Hong Young-pyo, Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate

Following Woo, Hong Young-pyo, who visited Governor Lee, said, "A process of sober evaluation is necessary, and reflection and innovation are the given tasks," adding, "Going through such a process, preparing well for the presidential election, and uniting efforts for victory is what the new party leader must do."

He also said, "I will move forward with additive politics, not subtractive politics," adding, "I will think a lot about how to promise this to the people."

In response, Governor Lee emphasized, "Even when kings ruled in the past, they feared the people, and in a system where the people are sovereign and judge, we must fear the people."

He also said, "The people harshly reprimanded the ruling party to do well," adding, "Since we have been given an opportunity, if we respect the people and approach livelihood reforms practically so that people's lives can improve even a little, producing many small achievements and regaining trust, I think a great opportunity will be given to us."

He then complimented, "I think (Hong) will do an excellent job if he takes charge of the party."

After the public meeting with reporters attended by Governor Lee, Woo, and Hong, Governor Lee held separate private meetings for about 10 minutes each in his office.

Song Young-gil, who also entered the party leadership race, did not meet due to other schedules.