Launch of Five Opposition Parties Roundtable Meeting... Aiming to End Internal Conflict and Achieve Political and Social Reform

Lee Jaemyung and Leaders of Each Party Attend
"Ending the Insurrection, Defending Democratic Constitution"

On the 19th, the five opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea launched the "Roundtable Conference for Ending the Insurrection, Defending Democratic Constitution, and a New Republic of Korea." They announced, "We will unite and cooperate to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol."

Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung and leaders of five opposition parties are taking a commemorative photo after signing a joint declaration at the launch ceremony of the "End of Insurrection, Democratic Constitutional Protection, New Republic Roundtable" held at the National Assembly on the 19th. From the left: Basic Income Party leader Yong Hye-in, Justice Innovation Party acting leader Kim Seon-min, Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung, Progressive Party co-leader Kim Jae-yeon, and Social Democratic Party leader Han Chang-min. 2025.2.19 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On the same day, they held the launch ceremony of the roundtable conference at the National Assembly main building and jointly issued a declaration outlining the conference’s goals, including ending the insurrection, reforming political, social, and power institutions, and revitalizing the people’s economy.

They stated, "We succeeded in the National Assembly’s impeachment motion against the insurrection ringleader Yoon Seok-yeol, and Yoon has been detained, but the insurrection is still ongoing," emphasizing, "All those who aspire to defend democratic constitutional governance must come together. All democratic constitutional defense forces must respond with strong solidarity to the wishes of the people who protected the Republic of Korea from the insurrection."

They first declared, "We will definitely complete the ending of the insurrection and will promptly proceed with the special investigation on the insurrection, led by Myung Tae-gyun." They also said, "We will establish a ‘Special Committee for Investigating Anti-Constitutional Acts’ to firmly respond to acts spreading fake news such as court riots and election fraud conspiracy theories."

Regarding measures to restore the people’s economy, they promised to form subcommittees in areas such as political reform, social reform, and power institution reform to derive concrete reform tasks.

Attending the roundtable conference launch ceremony were Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party; Kim Seon-min, acting leader of the Party for National Innovation; Kim Jae-yeon, leader of the Progressive Party; Yong Hye-in, leader of the Basic Income Party; and Han Chang-min, leader of the Social Democratic Party.

The roundtable conference discussions began with a proposal from Kim Seon-min, acting leader of the Innovation Party, and gained momentum when the Democratic Party expressed its intention to participate. However, the Reform Party decided not to attend.

In the political sphere, with the possibility of an early presidential election being raised, this roundtable conference is interpreted as a de facto 'presidential election coalition' of the opposition parties.

The five opposition parties plan to keep the door open for the Reform Party’s future participation and expand the coalition to include civil society. At the launch ceremony, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said, "I think it would have been really good if the Reform Party had joined as well. This roundtable conference is still open," adding, "We hope that all forces that do not support the destruction of the constitutional order, including the Reform Party, will join together."

When asked by reporters whether "if there are figures within the People Power Party who agree on ending the insurrection, can they officially participate?" Kim Bo-hyeop, spokesperson for the Party for National Innovation, said, "It is a very difficult issue and has not yet been discussed," but added, "If any People Power Party members sympathize with the purpose of the roundtable conference and request participation guarantees, we will seriously consider it."