'Party Charter Amendment' That Sparked Factional Disputes Concluded but Aftershocks Remain
Major Political Purge Also a Burden
Comprehensive Investigation into Lawyer Fee Payments, Kim Hye-kyung's Corporate Card Misuse, and Seongnam FC Sponsorship Bribery
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Democratic Party of Korea officially announced the launch of the 'Lee Jae-myung administration' at the August 28 party convention. Lee Jae-myung, who was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the March presidential election and the general election campaign chairman as well as the National Assembly candidate for Incheon Gyeyang-eul in the June local elections, has now become the new leader of the Democratic Party with overwhelming support of over 70% in the party leader election.
From the first regional primary held on the 6th, Lee received 74.8% of the votes, and under the slogan 'Eodaemyeong (Anyway, the leader is Lee Jae-myung)', there was no upset. However, Lee's solo run was not entirely smooth. Given the sharp criticisms from the anti-Lee factions regarding responsibility for two election defeats and accusations of 'party factionalization' related to party constitution amendments, Lee faces the challenge of reconciling internal conflicts and focusing on party unity going forward.
Along with this, as the head of the major opposition party, Lee is expected to actively check the ruling party while also confronting government investigations related to his own judicial risks, making him busy both inside and outside the party.
First, resolving factional conflicts within the party is an urgent task. Although the party constitution amendment that sparked factional disputes was finally confirmed after a re-vote just before the party convention, aftershocks are likely to continue for some time.
On the 26th, the Democratic Party approved a party constitution amendment including regulations on 'suspension of party duties upon indictment' through an online vote by the Central Committee. This amendment had been proposed two days earlier but was rejected due to factional disputes led by the anti-Lee group accusing it of party factionalization. The approved amendment to Article 80 of the party constitution allows suspension of party officials indicted for corruption-related legal violations but permits cancellation of the suspension through a party affairs committee resolution if recognized as political retaliation. Originally, the clause on 'suspension upon indictment' was to be revised, but by changing the authority for relief from the Ethics Tribunal to the Party Affairs Committee, a compromise was offered to factions opposing the amendment as a 'Lee Jae-myung shield amendment.' The final approval of the amendment at the reopened Central Committee narrowly ended the controversy, but the relatively low approval rate (54.95%) indicates that factional conflicts within the party have not been completely resolved.
There is also a prospect that the current government, facing low approval ratings in the 20% range, may create a large-scale investigation atmosphere to boost its ratings, which could become a burden for Lee, who has just become the opposition party leader.
Prosecutors and police are conducting intensive investigations on a wide range of cases related not only to former President Moon Jae-in, such as the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen and the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, but also cases connected to Lee, including allegations of lawyer fee payments and bribery involving Seongnam FC sponsorship funds. The investigation into Lee’s wife, Kim Hye-kyung’s alleged private use of corporate credit cards, is also expected to be transferred to the prosecution soon. Additionally, prosecutors have focused their investigation on Ssangbangwool Group with multiple raids related to the lawyer fee payment allegations.
In particular, if the collusion between the lawyer fee payments and Ssangbangwool Group is revealed, Lee’s summons for questioning appears inevitable, meaning the judicial risks feared immediately after becoming party leader could materialize.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
