Lee Jae-myung: "Transition from Democratization to Dictatorship Depends on This General Election"

"3·15 Fraud Election Aftermath: The Worst 'Gwan-gwon Election'"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The transition from democratization to dictatorship depends on this general election."

On the same day, Lee wrote on his social media service (SNS), "If a regime that has ruined the country in less than two years also seizes legislative power, it is truly difficult to even imagine what will happen."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is answering questions from reporters in front of the party leader's office at the National Assembly on the 22nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Lee said, "The blatant democracy report card of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which has 'silenced' the voices of the people for two years, has been revealed," adding, "Could anyone have imagined two years ago that the Republic of Korea, once called a leading democracy, would be described as undergoing 'dictatorship'?". This appears to cite a report from the Swedish Institute for Democracy and Diversity, which recently named South Korea as one of the countries "undergoing a transition from democratization to dictatorship."

Lee claimed, "Our democracy, won through blood, is being destroyed endlessly," and added, "It has become a country where people worry about 'whether they will be subjected to a search and seizure' or 'whether they will be taken away if they speak carelessly.'"

He continued, "This is because the basic systems of the rule of law, separation of powers, and constitutional order that supported our society have rapidly collapsed due to the abuse of power by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration," and criticized, "The president, who should lead national unity, is waging ideological wars, oppressive prosecutorial rule continues, and the basics of democracy?dialogue, compromise, and coexistence?have disappeared."

Lee accused President Yoon Seok-yeol of "openly committing the worst 'government authority election' since the fraudulent 3.15 election." He added, "This election is not merely to elect one member of the National Assembly to represent me," and said, "It will be a historic turning point deciding whether the Republic of Korea’s massive regression will accelerate endlessly or whether the 'reckless backtracking' will be stopped and the country will move forward into the future."