Itanhee: "Lee Jae-myung, opposite path to Roh Moo-hyun who abandoned Jongno and lost in Busan... needs reflection"

"Seongonghusa as a Leader's Quality... Doubts Cannot Be Denied"

Lee Tan-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending and speaking at the National Assembly's Education Committee's audit of the Ministry of Education held at the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 23rd, Lee Tan-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, “There must be a serious reflection on the fact that Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, chose to run in Incheon Gyeyang-eul rather than Seongnam in the local elections.”

Lee Tan-hee appeared on KBS Radio’s Choi Kyung-young’s Strong Current Affairs program that day and said, “(Running in Gyeyang-eul) appeared, at least temporarily, as a move opposite to Roh Moo-hyun’s path.” He questioned, “Didn’t President Roh Moo-hyun abandon Jongno and go to Busan where he lost?” and added, “‘Seongonghusa’ (putting public interest before personal gain) is the quality of the top leader of this camp, and it is an undeniable situation that this has raised doubts.”

He also said, “Under the two-party system, the leader of the Democratic Party is the top leader of the democratic progressive camp. Isn’t the quality of the top leader to put public interest before personal gain?” and “I believe Democratic Party members are watching with eagle eyes whether he can prioritize the entire camp over himself and whether he has that quality.”

Regarding the internal party debates over whether it is party sentiment or public sentiment, reform or livelihood, fandom or the masses, he argued that these are not the core questions. He emphasized, “The core issue is to redefine who the Democratic Party is for and what the values and aspirations of the Democratic Party are,” and “Based on that, a level of innovation equivalent to re-founding the party must be carried out, and the rest are all fake questions.”

He continued, “If you want to unify, there must be a center, but right now there is no center,” and “The lack of a center is partly a personnel issue, but it also means the identity has become blurred.”