"Priority on Trust Recovery"... Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon Meeting 'Tense Exchange'

Kim Young-jin "Naturally at the Right Time"
Yoon Young-chan "Trust Must Be Restored First"

Various speculations are emerging in the political sphere surrounding the meeting between Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and former leader Lee Nak-yeon. While there are calls for the meeting to be arranged promptly to prevent party division, the prevailing view is that, considering the need to restore trust first as emphasized by the pro-Nak faction (pro-Lee Nak-yeon faction) and the former leader’s political schedule, it is better to seek a natural opportunity rather than force the meeting.

Kim Young-jin, a member of the National Assembly and head of the Democratic Party’s Political Coordination Office, appeared on YTN Radio’s ‘News King Park Ji-hoon’ on the 4th and said regarding the bilateral meeting, “Meeting is a natural thing,” adding, “Since the former leader has come after a long time, he will visit his ancestral burial grounds, Bongha Village, Pyeongsan Village, and also meet former President Moon Jae-in. He has important schedules, so after naturally completing those, they will meet at an appropriate time to talk. It seems like it will be a natural schedule.”

Since the former leader, who had been abroad for a long time, has returned to the country, there are many places he needs to visit, so the meeting with Lee Jae-myung is expected to take place afterward. In fact, after returning, the former leader paid respects at the grave of former President Kim Dae-jung and visited Gwangju. Following this flow, visits to the grave of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and meetings with former President Moon Jae-in are expected to precede the meeting with Lee. The former leader’s side explained, “He plans to pay respects at the late President Roh’s grave at 3 p.m. on the 5th, and is coordinating a schedule to visit former President Moon afterward.”

However, concerns remain that trust issues still linger before the bilateral meeting can take place. Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Young-chan recently said in an interview, “It will take some time before the bilateral meeting,” adding, “Trust between Leader Lee Jae-myung and former Leader Lee Nak-yeon must be restored first.” This suggests measures for trust restoration before the meeting.

The pro-Lee Jae-myung faction showed discomfort toward the call for prior trust restoration. Lawmaker Kim said, “Trust restoration and the meeting are not a matter of precedence but should proceed simultaneously and in parallel, sharing the current Democratic Party situations and recognizing the direction of innovation together. It will be an opportunity for the Democratic Party to unite and create a new path against the Yoon Seok-youl administration.” This implies that the meeting itself can serve as a venue for restoring trust.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, also appeared on KBS Radio’s ‘Choi Kyung-young’s Strong Current Affairs’ on the same day and said, “They say trust must be restored before meeting, but isn’t it that trust can be restored only by meeting?” He added, “Misunderstandings breed misunderstandings, suspicions breed suspicions, and if they keep pushing and pulling like this, that’s how it goes. At such times, they should meet boldly, have a glass of Makgeolli, say ‘This is what I think,’ and ‘What do you think?’ What is there that party members cannot say to each other?”

Lee’s side appears focused on avoiding unnecessary tension. Earlier, after paying respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju on the 2nd, the former leader said, “Local residents seem to be very disappointed not only with the government but also with the Democratic Party,” adding, “I hope the Democratic Party regains the trust of the people through genuine innovation and becomes a party that can give hope to the people. The core of innovation is restoring morality and revitalizing intra-party democracy.”

Regarding a series of remarks that could be interpreted as criticizing Lee’s leadership by citing the disappointment of Gwangju’s public sentiment, Lawmaker Kim said, “I think those words come from concern for the Democratic Party,” and evaluated, “Innovation and democracy are directions the Democratic Party must pursue going forward, so the remarks were appropriate.”

However, there are also voices of concern within the party about the persistence of uncomfortable situations. On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon said on BBS Radio’s ‘Jeon Young-shin’s Morning Journal,’ “There are clearly strong fandoms called Gaeddal and also Nakddal,” adding, “If Gaeddal and Nakddal confront each other head-on and the mutual criticism and slander intensify, the internal confusion and division within the party may not be resolved but rather expanded.”

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