Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said he would "take unlimited responsibility" regarding the resignation of Innovation Committee Chair Lee Rae-gyeong, sparking a power struggle between pro-Lee (친명, Chinmyeong) and anti-Lee (비명, Bimyeong) factions. The anti-Lee faction pressured for resignation, arguing that without it, the statement was mere rhetoric, while the pro-Lee faction focused on blocking calls for resignation, calling it a "principled statement."
On the 8th, Lee Sang-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker from the anti-Lee faction, said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "If such a serious mistake was made and the leader just said a word like 'I will take unlimited responsibility for the outcome,' which is close to political rhetoric, that would only invite greater trouble," adding that "the only way to take unlimited responsibility is to resign from the leadership."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Youth Workers Town Hall Meeting on Labor Policy held by the two major labor unions at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
The day before, Lee Jae-myung told reporters regarding the Innovation Committee Chair incident, "It is the party leader's role to take unlimited responsibility for the outcome," but he did not specify how he would take such responsibility, drawing attention to what decision he might make.
The anti-Lee faction appears to equate "unlimited responsibility" with resignation. Lawmaker Lee said, "Leader Lee should courageously take responsibility for all of this and temporarily step down to focus on clearing his own judicial suspicions of the past. Doing so would be a good opportunity to remove various controversies in the eyes of the public, party members, and the party itself."
However, the pro-Lee faction argues that "unlimited responsibility" is merely a principled statement and that linking it to resignation is inappropriate. Jeong Seong-ho, a leading pro-Lee Democratic Party lawmaker, said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "As the leader of a political party, there are bound to be various issues, big and small, and naturally, the party leader is responsible for them. This is a basic, principled matter," adding, "Since it does not meet the public's expectations, it is necessary for the leader to express an appropriate level of regret."
He also addressed calls within the party for resignation, saying, "There are demands for the leader to resign and for a caretaker committee to be formed, but if a caretaker committee is to be formed, the entire current leadership must resign," and pointed out, "If only the party leader resigns, some habitually call for the leader's resignation, but if the leader resigns now, a party convention must be held again."
Kim Young-jin, the party leader’s chief political coordinator and right-hand man, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "If every issue is judged by 'resignation first,' the party leader would have to be elected once a month," adding, "Yesterday's statement on responsibility was more than just regret; it was a higher-level reflection and expression of regret." His logic is that mentioning "unlimited responsibility" itself is tantamount to expressing regret.
Pro-Lee lawmaker Ahn Min-seok also said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "Internal calls for the leader to resign at every opportunity are unreasonable," and quoting supporters, said, "One senior lawmaker has repeatedly appeared in the media with a very strong tone, demanding that the Innovation Committee Chair take responsibility for this mess and that the party leader resign. I cannot agree with that."
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