Lee, who had refrained from controversial remarks, shifts to offensive after Yoon's overseas tour
"Feels like Yushin's terror politics... Will risk everything to fight back"
Ruling party counters, "Is judicial reality unsettling?" raising concerns over politicization of the audit session
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has switched to a 'refreshing' rhetoric criticizing the government and ruling party, signaling an all-out confrontation with the ruling bloc. With Lee, who had restrained attacks on the opposition, joining in, a strong confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is expected to intensify ahead of the first National Assembly audit of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
Since the local elections, Lee has avoided direct comments on political issues or attacks on the government and ruling party. Even after being elected party leader in August, he emphasized livelihood policies and shared criticism of current issues with the Supreme Council members, showing a step back from political strife. This is interpreted as an attempt to secure public support by highlighting the image of a 'competent livelihood party' as a governing party. It is also possible that he avoided sparking political conflict due to his own 'judicial risks,' such as the Seongnam FC sponsorship allegations.
However, after President Yoon's overseas trip, as criticism of the presidential office intensified and conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties escalated, Lee has also heated up his criticism targeting the ruling bloc. On the 30th of last month, at the Jeonnam on-site Supreme Council meeting, Lee said, "The people have ears and the intellect to judge," and criticized the presidential office and ruling party's response to the profanity controversy, saying, "Even now, doesn't 'Biden' sound right? Didn't they curse? They should admit their mistake."
As news broke that the Board of Audit and Inspection notified former President Moon Jae-in of a written investigation, Lee appears to have raised the level of his attacks. On the 2nd, he posted on his Facebook, calling the Board of Audit and Inspection's actions "political retaliation," saying, "It reminds me of Yushin-era terror politics." At the party meeting on the 4th, he pressured, "If you believe you can hide the current government's failure with shallow deception, you are mistaken," and warned, "If the regime plots to destroy democracy, we will resolutely confront it with everything we have," signaling a strong party-level response.
One reason Lee has launched an offensive against the government seems to be the stagnant approval ratings of the Democratic Party. Despite the ruling party's confusion over the party leadership system, criticism of the Yoon administration's personnel and policies, and suspicions surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee, the approval ratings of Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party have been fluctuating, alternating first place with the People Power Party. According to a Gallup Korea survey conducted nationwide from the 27th to 29th of last month among 1,000 adults aged 18 and over, the Democratic Party's support was 36%, overtaking the People Power Party after two weeks, but failed to widen the gap by more than 5 percentage points. (For details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.)
Accordingly, by actively responding to controversies stemming from the presidential office and ruling party, such as President Yoon's use of profanity, it is analyzed that Lee aims to highlight the opposition's clarity and shift the political situation. However, there are also concerns that Lee's participation in criticism of the government and ruling party could provoke a backlash in approval ratings. On the 4th, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon said on KBS Radio, "Being biased to one side or the other is excessive," and evaluated, "Still, the party leader should show the public trust and belief that the opposition will take responsibility for people's livelihoods and lead them, and suggest a big direction. I think that is a better approach."
The ruling party has launched a counterattack by emphasizing Lee's judicial risks. On the 4th, Yang Geum-hee, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, issued a statement saying, "The Democratic Party is the behind-the-scenes force of the authoritarian 'terror politics' that only focuses on 'political offensives' while shouting political retaliation," criticizing Lee's remarks as "shameless." On the same day, lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun pointed out on his Facebook, "His 'judicial risk' is materializing into 'judicial reality,' so he must be desperate," and sarcastically said, "I don't know if he still has anything to hang on to at this point, but today's remarks by Lee are self-destructive comments aimed at the Moon Jae-in administration."
With both sides declaring a strong confrontation, there are prospects that the National Assembly audit could be disrupted by political strife. On the morning of the first day of the audit, the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit was adjourned after 35 minutes due to conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the dismissal recommendation of Foreign Minister Park Jin, which was led by the Democratic Party.
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