Lee Nak-yeon: "Democratic Party Must Innovate to Meet Public Expectations"

May 2 Gwangju 5·18 Democratic Cemetery Visit

Former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Nak-yeon, said on the 2nd, "The Democratic Party must achieve innovation that meets the expectations of the people, gain their trust, and fulfill its necessary role."

During a 3-day, 2-night visit to Honam, Lee paid respects at the Gwangju National May 18th Democratic Cemetery and the Mangwol-dong National Democratic Martyrs' Cemetery in the morning, and told reporters, "It seems that the local residents are very disappointed not only with the government but also with the Democratic Party, in which they had placed their hopes."

This was interpreted as a tacit "bitter criticism" directed at the Democratic Party under the leadership of Lee Jae-myung. Lee said, "While South Korea should overcome the crisis and give hope to the people, the government is recklessly running wild, and the National Assembly is failing to gain the trust of the people," adding, "I hope the government reorganizes and awakens itself as soon as possible, but I am not confident that this expectation will be easily fulfilled."

He continued, "At times like this, the Democratic Party, which I belong to, should play an important role, but it falls far short of the people's expectations," emphasizing, "Innovation must meet the people's expectations, not the Democratic Party's own standards." He also added, "Through such innovation, the Democratic Party must restore its values, regain the trust of the people, and be reborn as a party that fulfills its necessary role."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee said, "I believe that speaking like this is my role at this stage (within the party)," and stated, "The core of innovation is the restoration of morality and the revitalization of intra-party democracy." The Democratic Party has faced criticism from some quarters for losing its morality due to the repeated rejection of arrest warrants for party-affiliated lawmakers in the National Assembly, the 'money envelope' scandal during the party convention, and Lee Jae-myung's 'judicial risks.'

On this day, Lee paid respects at the graves of martyr Park Kwan-hyun, who was the student council president of Chonnam National University and defended the old Jeonnam Provincial Office until the end during the May 18th movement, the graves of unknown martyrs, and the grave of martyr Lee Han-yeol, who died from tear gas while protesting against the military regime in 1987. More than 100 people, including Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Gae-ho and former senior Blue House administrator Park Si-jong, accompanied Lee.

Having stayed in the United States for a year and returned, Lee began his activities by paying respects at the grave of former President Kim Dae-jung (DJ) at the National Seoul National Cemetery on the 28th of last month.

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