Breaking Silence, Lee Jae-myung Says "I'm Sorry, I Was Lacking"... Supporters Respond "No Apologies, 5 Years Until Cheong Wa Dae"

After 4 Days of Silence, Statement Released... Supporters Continue to Cheer
Discord Over 'Lee Jae-myung's Role Theory' Within the Democratic Party

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, declared his concession to the presidential election defeat in the early morning of the 10th at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Lee Jae-myung, the Standing Adviser of the Democratic Party of Korea, left a message saying "I'm sorry" four days after the disbandment ceremony of the election countermeasures committee.

On the 14th, Lee posted on his blog, "I'm sorry. Thank you. I was lacking."

The post received over 4,000 supportive comments from his supporters. One supporter commented, "No need to apologize. Five years left until the Blue House." Another said, "Don't be sorry. Recover quickly and come back."

Currently, there is a discussion within the Democratic Party about Lee's role. Ahead of the local elections in June, there are claims that Lee should take the position of emergency committee chairman to lead the party.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Du-kwan stated on his Facebook the day before regarding the announcement of the emergency committee appointments, "Regardless of whether Lee Jae-myung accepts the position of emergency committee chairman, Lee is clearly the best person to lead the local elections in the current situation," adding, "Even an army of hundreds of thousands will be annihilated if it goes into battle without a general. At least Yoon Ho-jung should step down from the emergency committee chairman position."

On the other hand, senior party member Lee Sang-min expressed a cautious attitude toward the 'Lee Jae-myung role theory' that has emerged in some quarters during an interview on BBS Radio's 'Park Kyung-soo's Morning Journal' that morning, saying, "As the loser of the presidential election, he bears some responsibility, and since the leadership including Representative Song Young-gil has taken responsibility and stepped down, it does not look good for Lee, the main figure, to step forward again."