Finally 'Myeongnak Meeting'... "It Will Help Unity" vs "Different Thoughts"

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, who returned after a year of studying in the United States, is scheduled to meet with Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung just two weeks after his return, drawing attention to the potential impact of their meeting. Within the party, there is hope that the meeting will help unify the party, but some in the anti-Lee faction believe that due to differing views between the two, there is little to expect from the meeting.

Pro-Lee Jae-myung faction leader Jeong Seong-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' on the 11th, "There is agreement that the party must unite to win the general election, and there is strong demand from party members," adding, "Lawmakers also share a certain consensus on party unity and innovation for party unity, so in that regard, the two will likely share opinions."

Chairman In Nak-yeon and candidate Lee Jae-myung are encouraging each other at the disbandment ceremony of the election campaign committee held on the afternoon of the 10th at the Democratic Party Central Office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

He also addressed the pro-Lee Nak-yeon faction's call for a 'time to restore trust,' saying, "'Time to restore trust' implies that the Democratic Party is in an absolute crisis and that the party must move forward as one to win next year's general election. Where would there be time for that?" He added, "I don't think there is such a trust crisis between the two."

Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho also expressed a positive view on the meeting's effect on party unity during KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' saying, "This is not a meeting to discuss any serious agenda, so I see it as a meeting that will greatly help party unity."

Amid escalating factional conflicts between the pro-Lee Jae-myung and anti-Lee factions, the Democratic Party expects this meeting to serve as an opportunity to ease factional tensions. However, the anti-Lee faction points out that the significant differences in perception between Leader Lee and former Leader Lee may result in the meeting being just a 'sit-down meal' without substantial outcomes. Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-chun said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "I think they might have slightly different thoughts now," adding, "There is nothing to expect in terms of content."

Regarding the private nature of the dinner, he said, "It seems that preparatory work for such a meeting has not been done," and "Since their diagnosis and perception of our party's current situation are completely different from the start, if Leader Lee says, 'Please help,' former Leader Lee might respond with, 'Do it properly.' That might be the dynamic inside."

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min, who hinted at the possibility of a party split with remarks about a 'pleasant breakup,' pointed out that resolving the issue of hardline fandom is an urgent task. On BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' he said, "We need to reform the political culture of the party's still existing, distorted, and malicious hardline fandom. We must face these issues head-on and come up with solutions," adding, "They both know the answers, and what is important is the courage to confront and overcome these problems directly."

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