Jeonyonggi "Lee Sang-min, 21st Century 'Kkapitan Ri'... Please Leave Quietly"

""Joining the ruling party? It is interpreted as saying 'I will go if nominated'"
"A 5-term lawmaker should have weight and responsibility""

Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, recently criticized Lee Sang-min, a non-Lee Jae-myung faction lawmaker who hinted at the possibility of leaving the party and joining the People Power Party, saying, "Are you trying to become a 21st-century 'Kkapitan Ri (opportunist)'?"

On the 21st, Jeon said through his social media (SNS), "Leaving in search of opportunities is a personal choice, so I will not stop you, but please do not cause confusion in intra-party politics through the Democratic Party," adding, "If you have firmly decided to part ways, it would be better to leave quietly."

Jeon explained, "Mr. Lee Sang-min became a member of the National Assembly in 2004 after receiving the nomination from the Uri Party, and when he was not nominated in the 2008 election, he was nominated by a conservative party and became a lawmaker. Then, saying his political stance did not match, he left again and crossed over to the Democratic Party, and after receiving three more opportunities from the Democratic Party, he maintained his position and became a five-term lawmaker."

He continued, "But now he says he will go if the People Power Party welcomes him. In fact, from several interviews he has given, it seems he would go if nominated," adding, "As a junior politician, I am truly ashamed to see such opportunistic politics. How can you now tell juniors what to learn?"

Jeon Yong-gi, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also pointed out, "A five-term lawmaker has been in politics for over 20 years and naturally carries the weight and great responsibility as a senior and elder of the nation," adding, "I do not understand what kind of shame you have to publicly say you will continue politics in a conservative party again."

Jeon said, "Until recently, you even asked Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, to put the party before personal interests," adding, "What kind of responsibility and weight have you borne for the party? Your characteristic convictions and harsh words were just a big picture to justify leaving the party and seeking new opportunities, weren't they?"

Meanwhile, the 'Kkapitan Ri' mentioned by Jeon is a famous short story published in 1962. Set from the Japanese colonial period to around the Korean War, the protagonist, doctor Lee In-guk, is depicted as an opportunistic person who repeatedly betrays without moral standards or beliefs according to his own interests. In the novel, Lee In-guk repeatedly changes sides: pro-Japanese during the colonial period, pro-Soviet immediately after liberation, and pro-American after the January 4th retreat.