Democratic Party Heading Toward Collapse... "Lee Jae-myung Preparing for Presidency Over General Election Victory"

Lim Jong-seok Excluded from Nomination... Anti-Biemgye Faction's Opposition Reaches Peak
Potential Rival Removed... "Focusing on Creating Lee Jae-myung Party"
Seol Hoon Declares Withdrawal... Effectively a 'Psychological Split' Crisis

The Democratic Party of Korea is heading toward a 'psychological split' as it excludes former Blue House Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok, who had been considered a key figure in the 'nomination turmoil,' from the nominations. Observers say that party leader Lee Jae-myung is focusing solely on creating an 'Lee Jae-myung Party' to advance his presidential ambitions, showing a passive stance in resolving the critical conflict that threatens the party's competitiveness in the general election.

According to multiple Democratic Party lawmakers on the 28th, strong complaints about unfairness in the nomination process were raised at a lawmakers' meeting convened the previous afternoon. There were expressions of backlash over the unclear method and subject of selecting 20% of incumbent lawmaker evaluations, controversies surrounding the opinion polls, and the exclusion of former Chief Lim Jong-seok from the nomination in Seoul Jung-gu Seongdong-gu Gap district. However, party leader Lee Jae-myung reportedly remained silent throughout.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jeong Cheong-rae, Supreme Council member, are conversing during the government questioning session at the National Assembly plenary meeting on the 22nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In particular, Hong Young-pyo, a leading figure of the pro-Moon faction, directly criticized the nomination disadvantages faced by the non-Moon faction, saying, "The party leader is shedding others' skins without shedding his own, getting his hands covered in blood." It is reported that the argument even escalated to raised voices. Especially, Representative Jeong Pil-mo, who resigned midway as the head of the central party election management committee, revealed regarding 'Research DNA,' a polling firm involved in controversy among the companies conducting the primary opinion polls, "Someone instructed the relevant subcommittee by phone to insert (an additional company), but they say they cannot disclose who gave the instruction," adding, "I was also deceived by false reports."

It is fatal for the party to show signs of division day after day ahead of the election. However, as the 'Lee Jae-myung leadership' consistently takes a wait-and-see attitude rather than resolving the situation, speculation is growing inside and outside the party that Lee's goal is not winning the general election. Instead, he is focusing on changing the party's identity to be 'Lee Jae-myung-centered.' The notification of 'bottom 10%' to Representative Park Yong-jin, who had faced Lee multiple times in presidential primaries, and the exclusion of former Chief Lim Jong-seok, a key figure for the pro-Moon faction, align with the view that this is a move to eliminate 'potential rivals' in preparation for the presidential race.

A source familiar with opposition party news told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "From the beginning, Lee's goal was not to win the general election," diagnosing, "His top priority is to reorganize the party with his own people and run full throttle toward the next presidential election." The source continued, "In 2018, when President Moon Jae-in visited North Korea, Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul and Governor Choi Moon-soon of Gangwon Province were taken along, but Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province was excluded from the delegation," adding, "Excluding a rival who competed in the presidential race was a natural political move, and Lee is now returning the favor."

Seol Hoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a press conference on leaving the party at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 28th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

With the Party's Strategic Nomination Management Committee excluding former Chief Lim Jong-seok from Seoul Jung-gu Seongdong-gu Gap district, some evaluate that the pro-Moon faction has crossed the point of no return. Indeed, just two hours after this announcement, Supreme Council member Ko Min-jung publicly criticized the 'unfair nomination' and resigned from her position.

Although some lawmakers, including Park Yong-jin, who received low evaluation notifications, are still participating in the primaries, since purging is taking place against virtually all factions except the pro-Lee faction, the possibility of a 'chain defection' cannot be ruled out. Already, Kim Young-joo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, classified as part of the Jeong Se-gyun faction, defected in protest of the low evaluation, and Seol Hoon, a member of the Donggyo-dong faction who had a strong attachment to the Democratic Party's legitimacy, finally declared his defection on the morning of the same day.