'Glory Only in Wounds' Criticism by Lee Met with "Even DJ and Roh Would Have Same Election Result"... Democratic Party Shows Signs of Factional Conflict

"Lee Jae-myung valued his own election as the highest priority..." 'Responsibility debate' erupts
Pro-Lee faction "If not Lee, who else can lead the party?" backlash

Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is getting into a vehicle after watching the exit poll results of the June 1 local elections at the comprehensive situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The June 1 local elections ended in a crushing defeat for the Democratic Party of Korea, sparking criticism and calls for accountability directed at Representative Lee Jae-myung, who served as the head of the party's overall election committee. In response, some of Lee's close aides have openly pushed back, signaling signs of escalating factional conflict within the party.

In this local election, the Democratic Party only won in five areas including its strongholds in the Honam region (Gwangju, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk), Jeju, and Gyeonggi, ceding most local power to the People Power Party. In the seven parliamentary by-elections held nationwide alongside the local elections, the Democratic Party won only two seats. One of these was Incheon Gyeyang B, where Lee was elected. Meanwhile, the People Power Party won five seats in total, including four they originally held plus one taken from the Democratic Party.

Following the Democratic Party's defeat, criticism erupted within the party with comments such as "the party is dead, only Lee Jae-myung survived." Former party leader Lee Nak-yeon wrote on Facebook, "The Democratic Party lost the presidential election but acted as if nothing happened and then lost again in the local elections. Instead of acknowledging defeat, they praised themselves with 'we lost but fought well (Jjalssa)' and pushed aside the evaluation of causes," directly criticizing Lee. Representative Lee Won-wook congratulated Lee's victory by saying, "A glory full of wounds! Congratulations," while criticizing, "(Lee) regarded his election as the highest value and 'escaped' to Gyeyang as rumored."

Representative Hong Young-pyo described the election result as "Season 2 of the presidential election. A tragic defeat of politics turned into a private faction through selfishness and agitation," and Representative Yoon Young-chan diagnosed, "We were like a runaway train heading toward a cliff without brakes. The mistake was misjudging and distorting public sentiment from the presidential election defeat with 'Jjalssa,' where the loser acted like the winner."

On the 1st, at the comprehensive situation room for the June 1 local elections set up in the National Assembly, Lee Jae-myung, the general election committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is talking with Yoon Ho-jung, the co-chairman of the joint standing election committee. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

In political circles, it was widely expected that Lee, who succeeded in entering the National Assembly, would challenge the party leadership election scheduled for August, but the internal party atmosphere is also negative about this. Representative Park Yong-jin said in an interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 2nd, "We need to coldly judge whether Lee is a subject of innovation or a target for reform. Rather than running for party leader, I think it would be better to take a step back and spend some time reflecting and coordinating the overall situation."

Representative Cho Eung-cheon also said in an interview on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the same day, "One of the reasons Lee ran in this election might have been with the party leadership election in mind, but he was unable to garner nationwide support, which was originally his justification for running, and rather he became a liability. It won't be easy for him to run cleanly in the party leadership election."

As criticism within the party intensified, some of Lee's close aides expressed displeasure and came to his defense. Representative Moon Jin-seok wrote on Facebook, "Lee Jae-myung's responsibility? Please stop that," arguing, "Even if Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun had been alive to serve as the overall election committee chair, the results would not have been much different. Expecting good results in an election held just 23 days after the president's inauguration is arrogant."

Representative Jung Sung-ho said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo on the 3rd, "Who else besides Lee is there to reform and lead the party now? Lee hasn't even taken party leadership yet, but some within the party are already talking about 'Lee Jae-myung's responsibility.' The crushing defeat in the local elections is everyone's responsibility, and no one should be singled out," he pushed back.

Meanwhile, the emergency committee formed after the presidential election defeat took responsibility for the local election loss and resigned en masse on the 2nd, leaving the Democratic Party once again in a 'leadership vacuum' after about 80 days. The Democratic Party plans for floor leader Park Hong-geun to serve as acting emergency committee chair to lead the party and form a new leadership team at the party leadership election scheduled for August.

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