Lee Nak-yeon: "New Party to Report to the People in Early January"

"South Korea Falling... We Must Build a Competent Nation"

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, who has officially announced the establishment of a new party early next year, expressed his ambition, saying, "We will create responsible politics that can give hope to the people and a competent nation."

On the 14th, Lee said on KBS's 'Special 1 Radio Today,' "Many people are feeling that the Republic of Korea is declining," expressing concern that "households are struggling to the point of having to reduce the number of side dishes, this year's economic growth rate is around 1%, and even the potential growth rate has shrunk to the 1% range."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He criticized the government, saying, "In prioritizing the improvement of Korea-US-Japan relations, Korea-China relations have worsened, and inter-Korean relations have also deteriorated, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "The administration's lack of meticulousness led to the Itaewon tragedy, worsened damage from typhoons and heavy rains, and a disastrous Jamboree event, resulting in an unprecedented defeat in the bid for the Busan Expo, with a historic loss of 119 to 29."

He also saw responsibility on the part of the Democratic Party. He said, "The Democratic Party has not gained sufficient trust from the people due to internal issues and various problems," and added, "In that regard, I call the current political despair a political dark age, and the Democratic Party bears a significant portion of the responsibility for this political dark age."

He specified the timing of the new party's establishment as early next month. When asked by the host whether the practical preparations were well underway, Lee replied, "Not to that extent yet, the process is very complicated," and added, "The early January timing will be about reporting to the people what we intend to do."

Regarding the comment that "an alliance with Representative Yang Hyang-ja and former Representative Geum Tae-seop is desirable, but an alliance with former leader Lee Jun-seok was not considered," when asked by the host, he said, "I have met with former Representative Geum and Representative Yang. We talked about how they are doing with their respective party establishments, any difficulties they face, and I offered words of encouragement," adding, "As for others, we have not yet considered alliances."

Within the party, there are many voices requesting his return, saying "division should not happen." In response, Lee said, "Among our people, some prefer the two major parties, but there are also those who dislike both," and added, "What I am thinking about and interested in is presenting an alternative that can get those who dislike both parties to go to the polls, not to take away those who like the two parties. If that were the case, the two parties would not be so angry, would they?"

Within the Democratic Party, there are also many who use harsh language, calling him a 'Sakura (spy).' Lee said, "I have nothing special to say. Their politics is just about cursing, mocking, and insulting all the time. I want to ask why politics is so harsh and barren," and added, "When someone says something different, they are shouted down, mocked, and insulted. Isn't it because of such attitudes that the Democratic Party is giving despair to the people?"