WP: "Lee Jae-myung, South Korea's Leading Next Leader"
On Korea-China Relations: "Balance Is Important"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that if U.S. President Donald Trump makes efforts to resume North Korea-U.S. talks, he would even consider recommending him as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, conducted an interview with the Washington Post.
The Washington Post (WP) published an interview with Lee on the 14th under the headline "South Korea's leading next leader wants warmer relations with China and North Korea." In the interview, Lee said, "If there is significant progress on the Korean Peninsula's nuclear and missile issues, it will be beneficial for everyone."
Regarding Lee's remark, "I hope there will be a situation this year where President Trump is officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize," WP evaluated this as "welcome news for President Trump," recalling that "when former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize in 2019, Trump called him 'most beautiful.'" WP also assessed that Lee's perspective "signals a sharp change from South Korea's current hardline approach toward North Korea."
On South Korea-China relations amid U.S.-China tensions, Lee said, "Managing balance is important, but the problem is that South Korea is on the front line." Regarding South Korea-Japan relations, he stated, "We cannot back down on unresolved historical issues such as compensation for forced laborers," pointing out, "Germany made sincere reflections, but Japan has not properly acknowledged its colonial-era wrongdoings." Nevertheless, he viewed South Korea-Japan cooperation as important.
About the next presidential election, Lee said, "The U.S. does not need to worry excessively or unnecessarily about the South Korea-U.S. alliance even if a Democratic Party government comes to power in South Korea." Regarding the U.S. 'tariff war,' he said, "It is not a good situation from South Korea's perspective," but considering the U.S. inflation problem, he predicted that maintaining this policy would be difficult.
Recalling the attack he suffered last January, he said, "As I fell, I looked up at the sky and thought, 'I won't be able to see this sky anymore. This is death,'" adding, "The rest of my life felt like a 'bonus.' I became a freer person and worried less about the importance of my life."
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