Kim Young-jin "Lee Nak-yeon Leaving Party? Just His Unique Expression, Not a New Party"

"It is not the time to design or promote a new party now"

Kim Young-jin, Chief of Political Coordination Office and representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 6th regarding former leader Lee Nak-yeon's hint at leaving the party, "It is just Lee's unique way of speaking and realistically will not lead to a new party."

Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that day and said, "Former leader Lee is not in a situation to design and push for a new party."

He continued, "A political party has developed together with a philosophy, values, and historical significance," adding, "We have developed the Democratic Party with Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in as our presidents. Although there were many hardships within, we have maintained it well. It is necessary for us now to properly inherit and develop the parts that have been maintained."

He further stated, "In that regard, since he served as the party leader and also as the prime minister of our government, I believe he will likely follow that spirit and direction, so I think he will probably not consider forming a new party."

Former Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

When the host asked about the possibility of assigning former leader Lee a certain role such as in the election campaign committee during the general election phase, Kim replied, "It is too early to talk about it now because it is not yet the phase of transitioning to an election campaign committee system," adding, "It is necessary to create wisdom on how to empathize with each other and what to do on various levels."

Kim said, "As the general election phase approaches, it is necessary for important assets within the Democratic Party and trusted leaders by the public to unite their efforts to judge the reckless Yoon Seok-youl government, stop the further collapse of the broken Republic of Korea, and prevent the collapse of the democratic system to achieve victory in the general election," adding, "In line with that purpose, Representative Lee Jae-myung, former leader Lee Nak-yeon, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will coordinate their respective roles well."