Sangmin Lee: "Professor Kang Junman, Someone Who Will Voluntarily Play the Villain Without Being Swayed by Paternalism, Fandom, or Faction"

5-term Veteran Lawmaker Sangmin Lee
Mentioned as an Outsider Leadership Figure
by Professor Kang Junman of Jeonbuk National University

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Sang-min, a five-term senior member of the Democratic Party, stated on the 27th regarding the party's reform, “Professors like Kang Jun-man from Jeonbuk National University are the kind of people who can establish the party firmly based on principles and rules, without being swayed by the party’s sentimentalism, factions, or fandoms.”

On the same day, Lee appeared on BBS Buddhist Broadcasting’s 'Jeon Young-shin’s Morning Journal' and expressed the need to seek leadership from outside the party. Referring to Professor Kang, he said, “He is someone who can maintain a certain distance from the party’s sentimentalism, factions, and double standards, and who can freely discern right from wrong, even willing to take on the role of the villain, possessing strong leadership.”

He added, “(Besides him) there are several others who have consistently criticized the party’s behavior, double standards, hypocrisy, and irresponsibility, even while sharing the party’s progressive and reformist stance,” emphasizing the practical necessity of leadership outside the party.

Regarding the theory of generational replacement from the 586 generation to the 7080 generation within the Democratic Party, he stated, “Leadership capable of a new generational change has not yet matured or accumulated sufficiently, so it is still premature. I don’t think this is the right time.”

He also directly addressed Lee Jae-myung, saying, “This is not the time for him to be in 108 anxieties.” He explained, “As a candidate in the last presidential election, he was the main figure responsible for the defeat, and as the overall campaign committee chairman for the local elections, he led the campaign. Politicians must take full responsibility for the results, which is a natural duty. I don’t think this is the time to waver. Also, the phrase ‘108 anxieties’ is not respectful to the public or party members.”