[Interview] Democratic Party's Top Firefighter Woo Sang-ho... "The More Chaotic the Country, the More Leaders of Both Parties Must Put Their Heads Together"

Interview with Former Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party
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Woo Sang-ho, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-i] "It was bleak. I really didn't want to take it on."

On the 26th, Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his feelings this way in an interview with Asia Economy when he took on the role of emergency committee chairman after the party's crushing defeat in the local elections.

Having lost both the presidential and local elections, leading to a fragmented situation, Woo, who took charge as the Democratic Party's emergency committee chairman, managed to settle internal conflicts, prioritize people’s livelihood, recover party approval ratings, and oversee the party convention without major disruptions, completing his short two-month term. At his farewell press conference, he even received compliments that his leadership would be called upon again, but the party’s situation when he took office was truly a matter of life and death, not an exaggeration.

Woo sighed deeply as he recalled the time when he took on the emergency committee chairman role in the interview with Asia Economy on the 26th.

He said, "At that time, after losing the presidential election and then the local elections, factional fights within the party reached their peak, and emotional rifts were deep," recalling, "Whenever lawmakers met, their faces were flushed red, and they were just irritated." Woo added, "To be honest, the presidential election was just one president losing, but in the local elections, the basic and metropolitan candidates who were involved in or supported by the lawmakers’ nominations lost," and "the pain encountered on the ground was immense." He reflected, "Everyone was blaming others and fighting, and rumors of Representative Lee Jae-myung (current Democratic Party leader) running surfaced. At a time when responsibility was being raised, there was doubt whether the party could be stabilized, and the media openly talked about the possibility of the Democratic Party breaking apart."

Three Conditions for Stabilizing the Democratic Party

He pursued three things to stabilize the Democratic Party: prioritizing people’s livelihood, settling internal conflicts, and becoming a strong opposition party. The key was that people’s livelihood came first, and being a strong opposition was the last priority.

Woo said, "Among the reasons we lost the election was the public perception that ‘the Democratic Party doesn’t seem to care about the people and only does what it wants,’" adding, "This impression was so strong that we decided to do what the people want, formed a People’s Livelihood Priority Action Team in the National Assembly, and worked quickly to pass livelihood bills such as the fuel tax reduction in coordination with Floor Leader Park Hong-geun."

Woo Sang-ho, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

At the same time, he met and persuaded various factions and held political workshops to create channels where lawmakers could speak honestly. Woo recalled, "How can the party receive the people's love when it is noisy with internal strife? I met with Representative Lee Jae-myung twice for serious talks, met several leaders of the pro-Moon faction, and visited groups by seniority to settle internal conflicts. Since I have no enemies within the party and do not belong to any specific faction, although they were initially tense when meeting me, they calmed down saying, ‘This is not something to fight Woo Sang-ho over.’"

Simultaneously, Woo introduced the Democratic Party’s changes to the public. The party leader, who held press briefings every weekend, said, "Through the media, I continuously explained which direction the Democratic Party was heading," and "I think the public recognized the significance of the opposition party’s existence during those two months."

As party approval ratings rose, there were open talks about maintaining the emergency committee system longer, but conflicts over the party convention rules caused confusion during preparations.

Regarding the controversy over the party convention rules, Woo said, "Politics means that when there are differences within the party, they must be coordinated. Coordination ultimately means adjustment and compromise," adding, "Compromise is difficult because both sides end up dissatisfied."

He especially mentioned the time when public opinion polls were excluded from the cutoff process for the Supreme Council members, saying, "When colleagues publicly insisted on something they knew was not true, I felt it was a bit too much," and "If you have complaints, you should come and explain well, so why rush to the press room first? I think our party lacks a culture of compromise and adjustment where issues are settled through mutual agreement."

"The More the Country is in Turmoil, the More Ruling and Opposition Leaders Must Meet... Politics Must be Restored"

When Woo took office as emergency committee chairman, he mentioned ‘restoring politics’ and spoke of politics based on dialogue and persuasion. While some progress was made in settling internal party issues, restoring politics did not yield visible results. He said, "During my tenure as emergency committee chairman, I never met the president or the ruling party leader even once," adding, "If even a dialogue-oriented person like me couldn’t meet the ruling party leader once, it shows how dire the ruling party’s situation is."

Woo said, "No matter how temporary a representative (emergency committee chairman) is, they are still a representative, but not having a single dialogue or even a phone call at the beginning of the term means there was no intention to talk," and criticized, "(President Yoon Seok-youl) seems very inexperienced in talking with the political opposition."

He added, "Although I had sharp exchanges with Representative Lee Jae-myung during the presidential election as rivals, and it could be more uncomfortable, to restore politics, dialogue between ruling and opposition leaders, and meetings between the president and opposition leader must definitely take place."

Woo said, "The more the country is in turmoil, the more the ruling and opposition leaders must sit down and talk. We need the wisdom to ‘act on what we agree on and continue debating what we disagree on,’" and "Nationally, ruling and opposition leaders must keep meeting and talking, restoring politics where dialogue and competition coexist."

He said, "Dialogue between ruling and opposition leaders and between the president and opposition leader has been cut off for quite some time," and "Politics disappears and everything ends up in court. Even neighbors who keep taking each other to court will never restore their relationship. If they keep meeting and talking, even if they argue loudly in the neighborhood, things improve." He continued, "Politics has disappeared, and as issues are resolved judicially, leadership is lost, so politics must be restored."

Woo Sang-ho, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Woo also expressed concern about investigations into Representative Lee Jae-myung, who was President Yoon’s rival in the presidential election. Woo said, "It’s the first time that pressure has been applied to a rival candidate after the election," and criticized, "The prosecution’s exercise of power against political opponents is pushing South Korea back decades."

He said, "Does it make sense for the prosecution to relentlessly investigate one person through regime changes? When investigating an opposition leader, investigations should start only when there is decisive evidence. Trying to create evidence by constantly digging is not normal."

Woo attempted his own restoration of politics. During his tenure as emergency committee chairman, rather than taking an unconditional confrontational stance against President Yoon, he showed a willingness to interpret actions in good faith. For example, when the U.S. House Speaker visited Korea during President Yoon’s vacation and only had a phone call, Woo accepted that possibility. Even during the controversy over the admission of 5-year-old children to elementary school, he said, "Our government and lawmakers also reviewed this issue," and did not immediately launch an offensive. Despite being an area where the opposition could easily achieve results, he showed consideration from the president and ruling party’s perspective.

Regarding this, he said, "I was worried and gave advice because the president seemed too amateurish and unprepared. I was not harsh as emergency committee chairman," adding, "I thought the opposition should support diplomatic and security moves. When Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House Speaker, was not met, I didn’t speak negatively, thinking ‘It’s okay not to meet.’ When the bold plan was announced, although it seemed insufficient, I did not deny the intention to link denuclearization and inter-Korean relations."

Even he, who emphasized bipartisan cooperation in diplomacy and security, criticized the recent diplomatic tour. He said, "In the UK, he did not pay respects. It was actually a condolence visit, but not paying respects was unprecedented. The Korea-Japan summit felt humiliating. Diplomacy is bilateral, but Japan denies things, and we keep interpreting them differently, which is hard to accept. Rushing to meet U.S. President Joe Biden for 48 seconds made Korea look like a small developing country. It’s okay to meet again later. Being impatient and amateurish over small achievements was evident. The incident of swearing was embarrassing. It wasn’t a quiet meeting with aides in a restaurant but walking out where cameras were rolling. Saying such things was really immature," and he frankly said, "I was ashamed."

When asked for advice to President Yoon, Woo said, "The president must deeply study national governance tasks," and "If he has a direction he wants to pursue, he should listen to experts’ opinions and hold many expert discussions."

He added, "He must constantly communicate with the public about how they judge things," and "These three preparations will minimize conflicts and side effects." Woo criticized, "Sometimes when the president talks to himself or speaks informally, it seems like a particular thought, not a well-verified policy plan, but stubbornness or an overly right-wing perspective of some experts." He said, "If the president makes mistakes, the opposition has many targets to attack, which seems good, but actually, I want healthy competition for the country."