Lee Ijang Resignation? ... What Exactly Is 'Jaemyeong's Village'?

Opened on March 10, 2022, right after the 20th presidential election
Leading party opinion formation, conflict with the non-mainstream faction
"Out of touch with public sentiment" vs "Just an internet cafe"

As responsibility for the Kim Nam-guk lawmaker coin scandal is raised mainly by the anti-Lee Jae-myung faction, the factional conflict that had been quiet is showing signs of flaring up again.

The anti-Lee faction demands that the party cut ties with Lee Jae-myung, the strong supporter base backing lawmaker Kim, but the pro-Lee faction has dismissed this, resulting in a clash.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is expressing his position on President Yoon Seok-yeol's veto of the Nursing Act bill after completing the 'Youth Agriculture Field Visit and Meeting' held on the afternoon of the 16th in Jangwon-ri, Juksan-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Won-wook, a lawmaker considered part of the anti-Lee faction, mentioned the online community "Jaemyeong's Village," where the so-called "Daughter of Reform (Gaeddal)," the strong supporter base of Lee, is active, and demanded that "Leader Lee should resign from his position as village chief." Lee pointed out that many posts supporting lawmaker Kim Nam-guk have recently been appearing on "Jaemyeong's Village," showing a reaction disconnected from public sentiment.

"Jaemyeong's Village" is a fan cafe for Leader Lee that was created on March 10, 2022. This day was when the results of the 20th presidential election were announced, and it was also the day when Lee's defeat in the presidential election was confirmed. The strong supporter base of Lee, which rallied immediately after the election, has led opinion formation within the party and confronted forces criticizing Lee. Thanks to this overwhelming support, Lee was able to quickly return to the political forefront despite losing the presidential election.

In April of the same year, Lee was elected as "village chief" through a vote by members of "Jaemyeong's Village," and he responded positively by posting that he would accept the position on the cafe. However, as strong supporters continued to send text message attacks to party lawmakers who criticized Lee, calls arose mainly from the anti-Lee faction to distance themselves from Gaeddal.

On the 21st, Lee posted on Facebook the abusive text messages he received, pressuring Leader Lee by saying, "Can we consider someone who sends texts with this level of content a proud member of the Democratic Party? After seeing this, don't you want to cut ties with the strong fandom?" Leader Lee also requested strong supporters to "refrain from internal criticism," but the anti-Lee faction insists that a stronger will to sever ties must be shown.

However, pro-Lee faction lawmakers showed a lukewarm response. Jang Kyung-tae, a Supreme Council member, said in a YTN radio interview, "We are currently discussing various state affairs and people's livelihoods; is the cafe really that important? I don't think an internet cafe is that important."

Deputy spokesperson Lee Kyung also targeted Lee Won-wook in a Facebook post, saying, "We should not shake the party leader by talking about a strong fandom based on a single party member's message. One party member's opinion cannot represent the views of 5 million Democratic Party members," dismissing the demand for the village chief's resignation.

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