Park Jumin: "'The Path of the Democratic Party' Is Not an Alternative for Lee Jae-myung"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 31st, 'The Path of the Democratic Party,' a group of 'Bi-myeong' (anti-Lee Jae-myung) faction lawmakers, will officially launch. There is a view that this gathering aims to prepare an alternative due to the judicial risks surrounding Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Park Joo-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker classified as 'pro-Lee,' bluntly stated, "There is no need to see it that way."

On the 25th, on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Park said, "They have repeatedly stated through the media that this is not the case, and to my knowledge, some members of this group were lawmakers who accompanied Leader Lee when he appeared at the Seongnam District Prosecutor's Office."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This group, consisting of about 30 Bi-myeong faction lawmakers including Kim Jong-min and Lee Won-wook, is analyzed as having the intention to prepare an alternative amid the escalating judicial risks faced by Leader Lee. Among them, Kim raised the issue of so-called '1,000 won party members' at a forum last year, which led Lee's supporters to demand the Bi-myeong faction lawmakers to leave the party.

Not only the Bi-myeong faction but also the consolidation of 'pro-Moon' factions such as Sa-ui-jae and Democracy 4.0 is being observed, and many associate this with Leader Lee's judicial risks. When asked by the host whether 'Democracy 4.0,' a think tank of pro-Moon lawmakers, is becoming a political organization, Park dismissed this interpretation, saying, "Democracy 4.0 is a group aiming to play a role as a unit that creates policy alternatives."

He added, "Recently, Democracy 4.0 has been focusing on electoral system reform and measures related to people's livelihoods. We have been holding continuous discussions on these topics, including economic situation assessments, evaluations of the Yoon Seok-youl administration's economic policies, and debates on how to increase proportionality in the electoral system."