Candidate Registration D-7, Rush of Opposition Party Convention Entries... When Will Lee Jae-myung Speak Up?

One Week Until Candidate Registration, Flood of Party Leader and Supreme Council Member Candidacies
Pro-Myeong vs. Anti-Myeong Conflict Continues Amid 'Eodaemyeong' Trend
Lee Visits Honam, Starts Recruiting Party Members... Expected to Announce Candidacy Around Weekend

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Seo Young-kyo is holding a press conference to announce her candidacy for the Supreme Council member at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 10th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] One week before the candidate registration for the August 28 Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leadership election, a flood of declarations from lawmakers running for office is emerging. Amid fierce competition between pro-Lee Jae-myung and anti-Lee Jae-myung factions for the party leader and supreme council member positions, Representative Lee Jae-myung remains silent, focusing on securing support.

As the party convention rules were announced, lawmakers who had been rumored to run have made their decisions, revealing the outline of the party leader election. So far, five candidates have officially declared their candidacy: the '97 group' (those who entered university in the 1990s and born in the 1970s) including Representatives Kang Byung-won, Kang Hoon-sik, Park Yong-jin, and Park Joo-min, and the '86 group' (those who entered university in the 1980s and born in the 1960s) including Representative Kim Min-seok. These five are expected to compete in a six-way race against Representative Lee.

The lawmakers who have thrown their hats into the ring for the party leader election have positioned themselves as proponents of new leadership, expressing critical views of the 'Eodaemyeong (Anyway, the leader is Lee Jae-myung)' dynamic. Representative Kim said during a press briefing on the 6th, "The start of unity must begin with an evaluation of defeat. A thorough evaluation must come first," indirectly criticizing Representative Lee’s candidacy. Representative Kang Hoon-sik emphasized in an interview with Kukmin Ilbo on the 10th, "Now is not Lee Jae-myung’s time in the Democratic Party, but a time for change and innovation. It is time to turn the public’s attention to the Democratic Party through bold moves."

In the supreme council member election, pro-Lee faction lawmakers have been declaring their candidacies one after another. Following Representative Jung Cheong-rae’s announcement on the 9th, pro-Lee faction members and members of the party’s hardline first-term lawmakers’ group 'Cheoreomhoe,' Representatives Jang Kyung-tae and Yang Yi-won-young, also declared their candidacies for the supreme council member election. It is also known that Representatives Park Chan-dae, who served as Lee’s chief spokesperson during the presidential election, and Lee Su-jin, a member of Cheoreomhoe, are considering running. So far, outside the pro-Lee faction, three-term Representative Seo Young-kyo, who declared overcoming factional conflicts, has announced her candidacy, and in the pro-Moon Jae-in faction, former Blue House spokesperson during the Moon administration, Representative Ko Min-jung, and former chief of public communication, Representative Yoon Young-chan, are being mentioned as potential candidates.

Pro-Lee faction lawmakers participating in the supreme council member primary have been actively engaging in 'Lee Jae-myung marketing.' Emphasizing their ties with Representative Lee and courting the so-called 'Lee Sim (李心),' a 'block voting' campaign linking Representative Lee, the party leader candidate, with supreme council member candidates is expected to unfold. Representative Yang declared her candidacy for the supreme council member election on the 11th, stating, "(The Democratic Party) may have lost, but it has the asset of Lee Jae-myung, who received the most votes ever from the public. This party convention must place capable party leaders and supreme council members who can reform centering on party members at the forefront," lending support to Lee’s party leader bid.

Democratic Party Senior Advisor Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the 'Walking with Lee Jae-myung for Comfort' event held on the afternoon of the 10th at the 5·18 Memorial Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju. / Yonhap News

Representative Lee has not yet officially announced his candidacy. However, political circles inside and outside the party analyze that he has decided to run for party leader and is focusing on consolidating his support base. On the 10th, Lee visited Gwangju in Honam, a Democratic Party stronghold, for his first local visit since the June 1 local elections. His remark to supporters that day, "All results are due to Lee Jae-myung’s shortcomings, but we cannot stop here," has been interpreted as a signal for his party leadership challenge.

Lee is also actively communicating with his supporters through social media (SNS) and focusing on encouraging party membership recruitment, a process known as 'field cultivation.' On the early mornings of the 9th and 10th, he spent about two hours responding to supporters’ questions on his SNS and actively requested party membership and promotion. When supporters posted that they encouraged others to join the party, Lee replied, "Thank you," and to those who said they had already joined, he encouraged, "You can help by cleaning up comments and participating in community activities."

Although Lee’s candidacy is becoming a foregone conclusion and the party convention lineup is being finalized, he has avoided direct comments about running. Some within the party criticize his silence and urge him to declare his candidacy soon. On the 8th, Representative Seol Hoon directly addressed Lee on his Facebook, saying, "If you have decided to run despite many people’s objections and concerns, declare your candidacy as soon as possible and persuade the public and party members," and added, "What politicians and party members should be discussing now is not whether Lee will run, but 'the path the party should take.'"

The Democratic Party plans to accept candidate registrations for party leader and supreme council members over two days, on the 17th and 18th. According to political circles, Lee is expected to announce his candidacy later this week in line with the registration schedule. After a preliminary primary (cutoff) on the 29th, candidates advancing to the final round will be confirmed. There will be a total of three party leader candidates and eight supreme council member candidates in the final election.

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