Lee Jae-myung: "Yoon Obsessed with 'Eliminating Political Rivals'... Must Return to Original Intent"

First Press Conference 138 Days After Party Leader Inauguration
Proposes Recovery of People's Economy and Constitutional Amendment
"Will Stand Firm Against Any Injustice"

[Asia Economy Reporters Joo-yeon Oh, Jun-ee Park] "Normalization."

At his first official press conference held 138 days after assuming the position of party leader, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed a series of determined remarks, pouring out his long-held thoughts. While there were many key phrases, the word that connected them all was "normalization of abnormality." In his first conference remarks, which focused on three major areas?"restoration of the people’s livelihood economy, cessation of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s failures and suppression of the opposition party, and recovery toward politics for the people"?Lee criticized the Yoon administration’s failures and incompetence across economic, diplomatic, and political fields, while meticulously pointing out what must be corrected, emphasizing his characteristic confidence. In particular, he defined the current government’s politics as "politics of division and anger" and stressed his commitment to "political restoration," signaling a tough stance in the "judicial political situation" that will intensify this year.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, holds a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Restoration of the people’s livelihood economy... "A complete shift in national policy direction is necessary"

On the 12th, at a morning press conference held at the National Assembly, Lee pointed out the unstable livelihood economy first, saying, "With the difficult economic situation compounded by a security disaster, the ‘Korea discount’ is becoming widespread." He proposed three major solutions to address this: ▲ a 30 trillion won-scale ‘Emergency Livelihood Plan,’ ▲ a cabinet reshuffle including the economic line, and ▲ the formation of a national emergency economic council.

Lee criticized, "At a time when the waves of crisis are rising, the state must strongly protect the socially vulnerable and ordinary people and strive for fair sharing of pain. However, government measures are going in the opposite direction." He added, "They are only obsessed with privileged tax cuts for large corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals and encouraging ‘real estate shopping’ by multi-homeowners. This is a wrong prescription that eats away at the future and a self-defeating move. The national policy direction must be completely changed immediately."

He then pressured the Yoon administration by citing the recent North Korean drone incident as a representative failure in security. Lee said, "The president’s reckless ‘verbal bombs’ to cover up security incompetence have only amplified public anxiety and market confusion," and pointed out, "There is great public concern that something might happen."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

He also criticized the government’s "one-way governance" and urged, "Please cooperate in restoring the lost politics." Lee warned, "If the so-called three major reforms promoted by the government are pushed through by force, like the prosecution’s warrant execution, it will only provoke strong resistance," and said, "The president must return to the initial resolve he pledged." He added, "I have already proposed meetings with the president several times. The offer still stands," reiterating his request for a meeting.

Stop the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s failures and suppression of the opposition... Restore lost politics

At the press conference held two days after appearing before the prosecution over allegations of donations to Seongnam FC on the 10th, Lee criticized the Yoon administration’s "political prosecution" and continued with tough remarks that seemed to assert his presence in the upcoming judicial political situation.

Lee demanded, "The one-sided and violent governance must be normalized," and "Stop the efforts to destroy the opposition party." He fiercely criticized, "The government has been obsessed with destroying the opposition and eliminating political rivals by mobilizing power institutions, all while verbally promoting ‘cooperation.’ It has even been criticized as the only government that has not engaged in dialogue with the opposition party leader for over eight months since taking office."

Along with this, Lee proposed political reform tasks such as changing the current single five-year presidential term to a four-year two-term system to move away from the imperial presidency, introducing a presidential runoff election system, and reforming the parliamentary election system to break regionalism. Lee said, "There is no election this year. It is an appropriate time to discuss constitutional amendments," and also suggested forming a special committee on constitutional amendments in the National Assembly and holding a national referendum during the 2024 general election.

Lee emphasized, "Politics only has a reason to exist when it makes people’s lives better and pioneers a better future for the country," and said, "I recall the initial resolve when I was first called by the people. I will trust the people and history and stand firmly against any injustice."

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