Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon's First Joint Visit to Gwangju... Attending National Vision and Public Unity Vision Meeting

"Emphasizing Beyond Physical Bonds to Chemical Bonds"

'Saenara' Vision Based on United Strength to Resolve Polarization

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Lee Nak-yeon, co-chairman of the National Vision and National Integration Committee, are attending the vision meeting held in Gwangju on the 5th, listening to the "People's Dreams" and responding afterwards.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Lee Nak-yeon, co-chairman of the National Vision and National Integration Committee, accompanied each other to Gwangju at the beginning of the new year to win public support.

At 11 a.m. on the 5th, the candidate and the co-chairman attended the ‘National Vision and National Integration Committee Gwangju Vision Meeting’ held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju.

They entered side by side, continuing their ‘One Team’ approach.

Assemblyman Lee Byung-hoon served as the moderator, and under the slogan ‘A Country We Dream Together, Listening to Vision and Embracing Integration,’ about 200 people including co-chairs Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon, vision committee members, and party members gathered.

The vision meeting proceeded with the opening and national ceremony, introduction of guests, keynote speeches by co-chairs Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon, listening to the ‘People’s Dreams,’ and announcements of vision and integration messages.

In his keynote speech, Candidate Lee said, “All the candidates who competed are doing their utmost to fulfill their maximum roles,” adding, “We are joining forces, and it is said that such a thing has never happened before.”

He continued, “The integration with the Open Democratic Party has also been decided, and our former comrades who once left the party for various reasons are gathering again on a single front,” and stated, “With united strength, we will turn crises into opportunities and build a new country together.”

Co-chair Lee Nak-yeon emphasized, “Gwangju is a recognized sacred place of democracy. Democracy as we know it was conceived here in 1980,” and added, “The framework of democracy began with the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising and the June 1987 Struggle.”

He also said, “Democracy is said to grow on blood, but now we should not shed blood anymore, yet that is not the case,” and asserted, “People are bleeding in industrial sites, many are making extreme choices due to financial hardship, and self-employed people are struggling because of COVID-19. Candidate Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party will start with these issues.”

Furthermore, he said, “New challenges such as polarization, welfare, and stability are emerging one after another. I think this is socio-economic democracy, which contrasts with political democracy,” and stressed, “Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party will solve these problems.”

Following this, the ‘People’s Dream Gathering Project’ featured five participants: pianist Park Su-ji with ‘Becoming a Confident Mom Musician,’ Jeong Seong-beom, a rural vegetable farm owner who returned to farming, with ‘A Better World through AI Agriculture,’ parent Song Ju-young of three children in elementary, middle, and high school with ‘Escaping Education Hell,’ Na Sang-min, CEO of Ditourisso and the first AI youth entrepreneur, with ‘Enactment of the ‘It’s Okay to Fail’ Law,’ and Shin Hyun-sik from the Democratic Senior Welfare Center and Gwangsan Senior Citizen Network with ‘Vibrant Senior Citizens.’

They requested that the threshold for public institution support projects for artists is too high for young and non-mainstream artists, and that quarantine rules should consider the characteristics of performance venues. Young farmers asked for educational support to find hope in agriculture and the hope of Korean rural areas.

They also asked for a country where children, driven into suffocating entrance exam competition, can develop their individuality and pursue their dreams, and requested that the AI industry ecosystem be established through long-term rather than short-term projects. Additionally, they called for education for the elderly to break free from negative perceptions and to enable them to play roles as ‘senior citizens.’

Candidate Lee and Co-chair Lee listened to all their dreams and responded, “We fully empathize,” and “The Democratic Party will strive to create such a world.”

On this day, the joint appearance of Candidate Lee Jae-myung and former leader Lee Nak-yeon, who competed fiercely in the primary, in Gwangju is analyzed as a move to emphasize ‘One Team’ and maximize factional unity amid the peak of internal strife within the People Power Party.

Assemblyman Lee Byung-hoon, who moderated the event, also remarked, “Today’s gathering will be a place where chemical bonds form beyond physical connections.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.