New Floor Leader's 'Declaration to Protect Lee Jae-myung'? ... The Democratic Party's Choice

New Floor Leader to Be Elected on the Afternoon of the 26th
Non-Myeong Faction: "Whoever It Is, Strengthen the Lee Jae-myung Regime"

As calls emerged for candidates running for the Democratic Party floor leader position to publicly declare their 'determination to protect Lee Jae-myung,' voices of dissatisfaction continued from the anti-Lee (Bi-Lee Jae-myung) faction. It was deemed inappropriate to pressure the floor leader, who should be managing party turmoil caused by the approval of the arrest motion against Lee Jae-myung and preparing for the upcoming general election, to officially express their commitment to protecting Lee.

On the 25th, at the party's supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly, Supreme Council Member Jeong Cheong-rae urged candidates running for the floor leader election to "respond to the wishes of party members and the public who say 'We will protect Representative Lee Jae-myung until the end' and 'We will raise the Democratic Party's flag high and advance together with party members,' and publicly declare this."

The Democratic Party floor leader election held on the afternoon of the 26th will be a three-way contest among lawmakers Kim Min-seok, Hong Ik-pyo, and Nam In-soon (in order of ballot number). Initially, four candidates had thrown their hats into the ring, but lawmaker Woo Won-shik declared he would not run, stating, "I hope efforts to protect the Democratic Party and Representative Lee Jae-myung will unite as one, so I have decided not to participate in the floor leader race."

All three candidates, classified as pro-Lee Jae-myung (pro-Lee) faction, pledged to 'protect the Lee Jae-myung regime,' leading to criticism that this floor leader election is dominated entirely by pro-Lee candidates.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is heading to the courtroom on the morning of the 26th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu to attend the pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant examination). [Image source=Yonhap News]

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min from the anti-Lee faction appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and argued, "Whoever wins, the pro-Lee regime will be strengthened, and the support base for Representative Lee will be further solidified. That is what is happening, and that is what will happen."

Lee said, "It is true that there is conflict between the pro-Lee and anti-Lee factions, with various opposing views, and an atmosphere of internal strife that seems irreconcilable. If Representative Lee wants to resolve this and lay the groundwork for unity, he should make such a gesture. But if he just strengthens the pro-Lee regime and says he will go to the end, including the general election, it shows that the thoughts within the party are very different."

Lawmaker Kim Jong-min emphasized that the newly elected floor leader must be able to solve the problems facing the party. On the 25th, on BBS Radio, Kim said, "Whether pro-Lee or anti-Lee, whoever the newly elected floor leader is, the issue is how they will save and revive the Democratic Party from the criticism it receives from the public regarding the 'bulletproof party' problem and the fandom party problem, and what role they will play in that."

Kim stressed, "Who the person is is important, but how we judge public sentiment or how public sentiment flows is even more important."