Meeting between Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yeon abruptly 'postponed' due to heavy rain

The dinner meeting between Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and former leader Lee Nak-yeon was postponed due to heavy rain and other weather conditions in the central region.

On the 11th, the Democratic Party announced, "The meeting scheduled today between Leader Lee and former Leader Lee has been postponed to prepare for the heavy rain warning and the resulting flood damage." Although the meeting schedule was coordinated after former Leader Lee returned from studying in the United States, it was postponed due to weather conditions on the day.

Earlier, after returning to Korea, former Leader Lee visited the graves of former President Kim Dae-jung and former President Roh Moo-hyun, visited Gwangju, and met with former President Moon Jae-in and others. Within the party, voices calling for reconciliation and resolution of the tensions between Leader Lee and former Leader Lee, who fiercely competed in the last presidential election, have continued. However, concerns within the party grew as the meeting schedule was not finalized.

Both sides had a hard time finalizing the meeting schedule on the day, but due to continued heavy rain in the central region, the meeting was postponed.

Former leader of the Democratic Party Lee Nak-yeon is entering the residence to have a meeting with Philippe Lefort, the French Ambassador to Korea, at the French Embassy in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 10th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Since both sides agree on the necessity of the meeting, it is expected that the meeting schedule will be set soon.

Within the Democratic Party, there were both expectations and concerns regarding the meeting.

Jeong Seong-ho, a pro-Lee Jae-myung (pro-Lee faction) leader and Democratic Party lawmaker, said on YTN’s ‘News King Park Ji-hoon’ on the same day, "I agree that the party must unite to win the general election, and there is a strong demand from party members," adding, "Lawmakers also share a consensus on party unity and innovation for party unity, so I believe the two will share opinions in that regard."

On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon said on SBS’s ‘Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show’ on the same day, "I think their thoughts might be a little different right now," and "There is nothing to expect in terms of content." Regarding the dinner being held privately, he said, "It seems that preparatory work for such a meeting has not been done yet," adding, "The diagnosis and perception of our party’s current situation are completely different from the start, so if Leader Lee says ‘please help,’ former Leader Lee might respond with ‘do it properly.’ That’s how it might go inside."

For now, voices inside and outside the party are calling for the meeting to be a place to seek conditions for coexistence. It is necessary to prepare a role for former Leader Lee ahead of next year’s general election. Additionally, if Leader Lee’s legal risks resurface and the party shifts to a non-standing emergency committee system, there is a possibility that former Leader Lee may have to replace Leader Lee, so the party must keep this option open and respond accordingly.

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