[Full Text] Lee Nak-yeon "Integration Failure, Moving Forward to a New Future"... Breakup with Reform New Party

Lee: "I will build the 'Real Democratic Party'"
"Agreements broken and democracy damaged"
"Will create an alternative party to protect the people"

Lee Nak-yeon, co-representative of the Reform New Party, has declared a split from co-representative Lee Jun-seok.

On the morning of the 20th, Lee held a press conference at the New Future Central Party meeting room in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, "We have no choice but to return to the state before the integration," and added, "We will return to New Future."

He emphasized, "The agreement made on February 9 was overturned, and the agenda to grant full election authority to one co-representative was forcibly passed by a vote of the Supreme Council," adding, "This should not have been subject to a Supreme Council vote, and the spirit of democracy has been damaged."

He continued, "We will establish a 'real Democratic Party' to replace the Democratic Party, which has become difficult to check or replace the regime," and stressed, "We will break the monopolistic political structure of the incompetent and corrupt two major parties and create a genuine alternative party that prioritizes the nation over factions and the people over politicians."

Lee Nak-yeon, co-representative of the New Future, is speaking at the Responsibility Committee meeting held on the 5th at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Below is the full text of Lee Nak-yeon, Reform New Party representative’s press conference

Apologies. I will start again.

Respected citizens, beloved party members, I bow my head and apologize to you. The failure of the new party integration has caused great disappointment. The poor integration decision has led to a shameful conclusion.

The new party integration was necessary as a foundation for political reform. I wanted to complete the integration before the Lunar New Year holidays. Therefore, I made significant concessions and hurried the integration. However, we encountered several problems.

I addressed these problems with three principles. First, the principle of maintaining the integration. Second, the principle of honoring the agreement among the integration parties. Third, the principle of respecting the spirit of democracy.

However, the agreement among the integration parties was broken. The agreement made on February 9 was overturned, and the agenda to grant full election authority to one co-representative was forcibly passed by a vote of the Supreme Council. This should not have been subject to a Supreme Council vote.

The spirit of democracy has been damaged. They tried to stigmatize and exclude a specific person from the start. Politics of stigma, hatred, and exclusion were repeated. Our dream to overcome such politics was trampled upon.

As the agreement was broken and the spirit of democracy damaged, the maintenance of the integration was also threatened. Moreover, it seems they had planned early on to break the integration or erase me.

We have no choice but to return to the state before the integration agreement. We will return to New Future. We will reorganize the party and quickly establish the election system.

Lee Nak-yeon, co-representative of the New Future, is speaking at the Responsibility Committee meeting held at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Although the integration has failed, my original intention has not failed but rather strengthened. I will return to my original intention. We will break the monopolistic political structure of the incompetent and corrupt two major parties and create a genuine alternative party that prioritizes the nation over factions and the people over politicians. We will prepare a new future for the Republic of Korea without imitating the confrontational politics of vested interest parties.

We will establish a ‘real Democratic Party’ to replace the Democratic Party, which has been crushed by moral and legal issues and has fallen to a one-person party, making it difficult to check or replace the regime. We will restore the proud spirit, values, and dignity of the Democratic Party. We will transform the political arena, rife with lies and collusion, into a place where honesty and common sense prevail.

For now, we will fight fiercely to prevent the ruling party from securing a majority of seats. We will focus on the general election and prepare for the post-election period. We sincerely apologize again to the citizens and party members. However, it may be a blessing in disguise that the new party landscape has become clear before the legal merger. Uncertainty is better short than long.

We will do our best so that today’s disappointment experienced by the citizens and party members becomes tomorrow’s hope. Please forgive our mistakes and accept our sincerity. Thank you.