[Lee Jun-seok Aftershock] Youth Party Leaders of Both Major Parties in Crisis... Where Is Youth Politics Heading?

Lee Jun-seok Disciplined, Park Ji-hyun Barred from Running
Issues Include System Absence and Election Season Flash Recruitment

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Park Ji-hyun, former co-chair of the Democratic Party's Emergency Response Committee.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Park Ji-hyun, former co-chair of the Democratic Party's Emergency Response Committee. The two 'young party leaders' who were active before and after the presidential election are now facing a crisis. In political circles, this is being evaluated as revealing the limitations of youth politics both personally and structurally.

Lee, who led the innovation of the People Power Party as the first-ever 'party leader in his 30s' in the history of the constitution last year, is now in a situation where he must step down from his leadership position after just over a year. On the 8th, the People Power Party Central Ethics Committee issued a severe disciplinary decision of 'six months suspension of party membership rights' against Lee, who is suspected of instructing the destruction of evidence related to sexual bribery, delivering a fatal blow not only to his leadership but also to his future political career.

Park, who was recruited to Lee Jae-myung's election camp during the last presidential election and then rose to the position of co-chair of the Emergency Response Committee, has disappeared from the public eye after the emergency committee system ended. She intended to run for the party leader election at the party convention scheduled for August 28, but her candidacy was disallowed on the grounds that she did not meet the qualification of being a party member with voting rights.

As the young leaders of the two major parties, who had been the focus of political expectations ahead of the presidential election, faced crises immediately after the election, criticism has emerged that this exposes the chronic problem in Korean politics of failing to nurture young politicians.

Of course, the primary factors lie with the individuals. Since December last year, Lee has been continuously embroiled in allegations of instructing the destruction of evidence related to sexual bribery, following focused accusations by the 'Garo-Sero Research Institute.'

Park also joined the party around mid-February and does not meet the qualifications for party positions or public office candidacy according to party rules and regulations, but considering her role as an emergency response committee chair, she is requesting a discussion on her eligibility to run. Regarding Park's recent actions, voices of criticism have emerged both inside and outside the party, accusing her of 'demanding special treatment.'

However, ultimately, this is seen as revealing the structural problem that political parties fail to systematically nurture politicians, forcing them to enter politics through 'flash recruitment' or individual efforts. A second-term lawmaker from the Democratic Party said, "Personally, I do not agree with all the words and actions of Lee and Park," but added, "However, the party does not have a system to nurture young politicians over a decade or more, which exposes these limitations."

Another first-term lawmaker pointed out about Park, "Older politicians tend to demand higher standards from young politicians whose power and skills inevitably lag behind," and emphasized, "There is a need to establish a system that can nurture talent and guide them in the right direction."