Democrats' Four-Way Race for Floor Leader... Whoever Wins Will Raise the Flag for Confrontation Against the Ruling Party

Focus on Maintaining Lee Regime
Jung Cheong-rae: "Must Publicly Declare 'I Will Protect Lee Jae-myung'"

The Democratic Party of Korea will elect a new floor leader on the 26th, the same day Representative Lee Jae-myung undergoes a warrant hearing. Four candidates have declared their bids to succeed former floor leader Park Kwang-on, who resigned taking responsibility for the approval of the arrest motion against Lee. The candidates include four-term lawmaker Woo Won-shik and three-term lawmakers Kim Min-seok, Nam In-soon, and Hong Ik-pyo. All are pro-Lee Jae-myung figures, so regardless of who wins, it is expected that the Lee Jae-myung leadership will be strengthened and the intensity of the opposition struggle against the ruling party will increase.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 25th, Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, "I hope the four candidates respond to the wishes of the people and party members by publicly declaring that they will 'protect Lee Jae-myung to the end' and 'raise the Democratic Party's flag high and advance together with party members.'"

Jeong said, "Tomorrow, the floor leader election will be held simultaneously with Lee's warrant hearing," and added, "I ask the four floor leader candidates to take this to heart."

He continued, "I hope the Lee Jae-myung leadership stabilizes at the speed of light and that you approach this with a spirit of putting the party before oneself so that the by-election for the Gangseo District Office head can be won." He added, "Just as a fish cannot live out of water, the Democratic Party cannot exist without its members. Just as the people are the owners of the country, the party members are the owners of the party. I will fulfill my given duties with a spirit of putting the party before myself, following the orders of the people and party members."

Jeong's emphasis on "protecting Lee Jae-myung" and "party members as the owners of the party" to the candidates is interpreted as an attempt to prevent any cracks in the current leadership system regardless of the outcome of Lee's warrant hearing, which is held on the same day as the floor leader election. Since all four candidates running for the new floor leader are pro-Lee, it appears that the current Lee leadership will be maintained regardless of who is elected.

Woo Won-shik, who served as the Democratic Party floor leader for one year starting in May 2017, is challenging for the first-ever 're-election' of a floor leader. It is known that he registered as a candidate after receiving calls to run from pro-Lee lawmakers. Kim Min-seok, currently serving as the party's policy committee chairman, declared his candidacy saying, "I will protect Representative Lee Jae-myung," and Nam In-soon emphasized, "I will protect the livelihood and democracy, which are in crisis due to the incompetence and recklessness of the Yoon Seok-youl administration," and "I will devote myself to protecting Lee and the party." Hong Ik-pyo, who is visiting China to attend the Hangzhou Asian Games, is expected to announce his candidacy on the day.

The Democratic Party is expected to increase pressure on the government and ruling party under the new floor leader system. In particular, they appear to be intensifying their opposition struggle following the warrant request against Lee.

After the meeting, Kwon Chil-seung, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, told reporters, "While the government and ruling party are focused on suppressing the opposition, the Democratic Party will take full responsibility for the people's livelihood," emphasizing measures to revitalize the economy, stabilize prices, and personnel hearings for three ministerial candidates for the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Meanwhile, whether Lee will attend the warrant hearing is expected to depend on the medical team's assessment of his health condition. Spokesperson Kwon said, "We will listen to the final opinions of the medical team this afternoon and make a decision regarding Lee's attendance at the warrant hearing." He added, "Lee has shown his intention to attend the hearing from the beginning, but we will make a final decision after hearing the medical team's judgment." Regarding the possibility of a written hearing, he said, "Nothing has been decided on that matter. Right now, the priority is to decide whether he will attend in person."