[Politics That Day] In the Season to Watch Even Fallen Leaves, 'My Way' Lee Sang-min, Even in 2008...

After Losing Nomination from Unified Democratic Party, Joins Liberty Forward Party
Lee In-je, a Democratic Party Lawmaker Who Lost Alongside Lee Sang-min
Lee Sang-min Speaks Out, Also Leaves Liberty Forward Party

Editor's Note‘Politics, That Day...’ is a series that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, and figures that deserve attention.

The season has returned when politicians must even be careful stepping on fallen leaves. This means it is a time to be cautious regarding the nomination process for the 22nd general election scheduled for April 10 next year. Less than nine months remain until the general election.

Political missteps at this point can be fatal. On the other hand, scoring points is quite rewarding. If points accumulate steadily, it becomes absolutely advantageous to clear the nomination hurdle. Conversely, accumulating mistakes means approaching the final stop of nomination rejection.

During such a critical period, there are politicians who continue their ‘my way’ approach. They have a distinct characteristic. They are either politicians who are practically likely to be rejected in nominations or those who speak their minds regardless of what others say.

On April 29, 2019, at the plenary meeting of the Special Committee on Criminal Investigation held at the National Assembly, Chairman Lee Sang-min struck the gavel after designating the Corruption Investigation Office bill as a fast-track.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Some politicians think that since nominations are difficult anyway, they will follow their own path, while others strike hard at the party leadership to try to reverse the situation.

If such politicians are rejected in nominations, a political retaliation frame can be imposed. This is why politicians who confront the party leadership before elections surprisingly survive the nomination process. Because they are politically burdensome figures, the party leadership may even ‘consider’ them.

What about Lee Sang-min of the Democratic Party of Korea? Lee Sang-min has been sharpening his criticism daily toward the party leadership, more precisely toward Representative Lee Jae-myung. Recently, he made a statement saying, “We must be prepared for an amicable breakup,” which sparked controversy.

An amicable breakup is a political term implying a party split. It can be interpreted as essentially calling for the party to be broken up. This is why the party leadership took a ‘stern warning’ stance. Being the target of a stern warning from the party leadership in a season when even stepping on fallen leaves requires caution means being one step further away from next year’s nomination.

This is a troubling point for politician Lee Sang-min. He is not just one of many lawmakers. Since the 17th general election in 2004 through the 21st general election in 2020, he has succeeded in being elected five consecutive times as a senior lawmaker. He was even considered for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly.

However, rather than the political weight of a party elder, he is more strongly perceived as an ‘internal critic’ within the party.

Former Minister of Labor Lee In-je is giving a congratulatory speech at the 2023 Labor-Management-Government New Year's Meeting held at Post Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Politician Lee Sang-min’s path has been consistent. Since his first term as a lawmaker, he has been a politician who speaks his mind. In the process, anti-forces within the party emerged, and he experienced difficulties surrounding nominations. A representative example is the 18th general election in 2008.

During Son Hak-gyu’s leadership in 2008, the United Democratic Party focused on replacing incumbent lawmakers, and a prominent victim of this in the Chungcheong region was Lee Sang-min. On March 13, 2008, the United Democratic Party’s nomination screening committee announced the rejection of incumbent lawmaker Lee Sang-min’s nomination for Daejeon Yuseong.

An interesting point is that among the two incumbent politicians from Chungcheong rejected in the nomination by the United Democratic Party, the other was lawmaker Lee In-je. Lee In-je was also a member of the United Democratic Party at the time. Both Lee In-je and Lee Sang-min, despite being incumbent lawmakers, were excluded from the United Democratic Party’s nomination list.

For Lee Sang-min, this was an opportunity for a turnaround. Having mainly maintained political ties with the Democratic Party side, starting from the Uri Party in 2004 to the current Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Sang-min ran as a candidate for a different party in 2008.

That party was the Liberty Forward Party. Lee Sang-min ran as the Liberty Forward Party candidate in the 18th general election for Daejeon Yuseong District. What was the result? Lee Sang-min comfortably won with 41.3% of the vote. At that time, the United Democratic Party candidate Jeong Byeong-ok received only 12.8% of the vote.

Lee Sang-min, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Central Election Commission meeting held at the National Assembly and greeting Vice Chairman Jeong Chun-suk. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The 2008 general election was interesting because the Liberty Forward Party swept five out of six constituencies in Daejeon. The remaining one was Daejeon Seo-gu Gap, where politician Park Byeong-seok, a former Speaker of the National Assembly, ran. That seat was taken by the United Democratic Party.

The 2008 general election was a landslide victory for the Grand National Party, but in Daejeon, they did not secure a single winning seat.

In the 2008 general election, when the Liberty Forward Party wave was strong, politician Lee Sang-min’s decision to change party affiliation was successful. However, his time with the Liberty Forward Party was not long. In the 19th general election in 2012, he ran again as a candidate for the Democratic United Party and was elected.

Even during his time as a Liberty Forward Party lawmaker, politician Lee Sang-min was someone who spoke his mind. He showed political behavior different from the party’s conservative line and ultimately chose to return to the Democratic United Party in the 2012 general election.

Will politician Lee Sang-min, now a six-term lawmaker, be able to continue his dream of becoming Speaker of the National Assembly? Will his choice in the upcoming election be the current Democratic Party? Or, like in 2008, will it be a third party? Politician Lee Sang-min’s path is an intriguing point to watch as we look toward the 2024 general election.