Opposition Innovation Committee Faces Difficulties... Different Dreams on 'Innovation Direction'

The Democratic Party of Korea, shaken by the 2021 party convention cash envelope scandal and the Kim Nam-guk lawmaker coin scandal, has embarked on forming a new innovation committee (Innovation Committee) for self-reform, but even this effort is facing difficulties. The disagreement between the pro-Myeong (친명) faction and the non-Myeong (비명) faction over the direction of innovation remains unresolved. While there are calls to grant full authority to the new Innovation Committee from the party leadership, the pro-Myeong faction is not in agreement, saying "the leadership has its role."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Pro-Myeong lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young said on the 24th on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show', "The party leadership has its role, and the Innovation Committee has its role in innovation," adding, "I don't quite understand what full delegation of authority means. From my perspective..."

The day before, Yoon Gun-young, a key figure in the pro-Moon (친문) faction and a Democratic Party lawmaker, urged on social media (SNS), "The party leadership's authority must be boldly delegated. The moment the Innovation Committee becomes a 'puppet,' the next general election is a guaranteed defeat," calling for full authority to be granted to the Innovation Committee.

However, the pro-Myeong faction opposes full delegation of authority to the leadership. Lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young said, "So far, the party leader has focused on unity, but this time we have confirmed that there are various problems within our party," adding, "Therefore, I think it is necessary to actively pursue an Innovation Committee that focuses on party innovation and reform."

There is also a significant difference in perception between factions regarding the so-called 'hardcore fandom.' Lee Won-wook, a Democratic Party lawmaker who caused a stir by revealing texts from the hardcore fandom known as 'Gaeddal' on SNS, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Hardcore fandoms and political hooligans have caused great harm in our political history. Both parties must strive to cut them off," and raised his voice, saying, "Some Democratic Party lawmakers who defend hardcore fandoms should face disciplinary procedures just as the People Power Party does."

Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning and debating at the plenary committee meeting for the review of the resolution on the improvement of the parliamentary election system during the 4th session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the other hand, lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young defended the hardcore fandom on CBS radio, saying, "The public is diverse, and party members are diverse as well. But just because some party members actively express certain positions, is there a need to deny that?" She added, "Rather, because we have blocked the channels for party members' opinions, the expressions have become more extreme."

Kim Young-jin, the Democratic Party's Chief Political Coordinator, also said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "Because democracy guarantees freedom of expression, I think it is fundamental to the Democratic Party and democracy to fully open up such freedom of expression and claims," adding, "The claims are legitimate as long as they do not turn into personal insults, abusive language, or criticism but are transformed into constructive criticism." In other words, only insults and abuse are problematic; the claims themselves are a matter of freedom of expression and are legitimate.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The non-Myeong faction focuses on 'leadership responsibility,' while the pro-Myeong faction emphasizes 'abolishing the delegate system' as the focus of innovation, highlighting another difference. Pro-Myeong Supreme Council member Jeong Cheong-rae raised his voice on SNS the day before, saying, "Former President Roh Moo-hyun's nomination revolution also faced resistance from vested interests. Reform always comes with rebellion and resistance. The abolition of the Democratic Party's delegate system will be no different." On the other hand, non-Myeong lawmaker Lee Sang-min said on YTN radio on the 22nd, "It is undoubtedly a heavy burden on the party and is bringing dark clouds, so it is right for the party leader to resign," advocating for the resignation of leader Lee Jae-myung.

As factional conflicts intensify over the direction of innovation, there are forecasts that factional strife will worsen when former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon returns to Korea next month and the non-Myeong faction rallies around him as a focal point. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won said, "There is no need to worry prematurely about such issues," but predicted that Lee would return to politics upon his return.

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