Democratic Party's Approval Rating Plummets... Rising Speculation of 'Lee Jae-myung's October Resignation'

Continued Government Attacks Despite Party Approval Rating Decline
Leadership Calls Resignation Rumors "Tabloid-Level Fiction"
Speculation Arises Over Kim Du-kwan as Next Leader

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is rumored to resign after Chuseok and hold a party convention to elect Representative Kim Doo-kwan as the new party leader to contest next year’s general election, the so-called ‘October resignation theory,’ causing unrest in the opposition camp. Although the Democratic Party leadership dismissed it as “a mere rumor,” the theory is spreading amid the party’s recently stagnant approval ratings.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 31st, Democratic Party Representative Kim Doo-kwan drew a clear line on the recent ‘Lee Jae-myung’s October resignation and Kim Doo-kwan’s rise’ theory during an interview on SBS Radio’s Kim Tae-hyun Political Show, stating it was “completely unfounded and news to me.”

The October resignation theory of Lee was triggered on the 29th when Jang Sung-chul, director of the Public Opinion Center, appeared on MBC Radio and introduced, “There is talk that about 40 Democratic Party lawmakers have agreed on the opinion that Lee Jae-myung will resign in October and hold a party convention to elect a legitimate new leadership to prepare for next year’s general election.” Director Jang added, “(They) decided to back Representative Kim Doo-kwan as the new leader.” In response, Cho Jung-sik, Secretary-General of the Democratic Party, dismissed the claim at a National Assembly press briefing the day before, calling it “a rumor-level novel” and said, “Imagination is free, but writing such novels using another party as material is very inappropriate.”

Some political circles analyze that Lee’s October resignation theory is closely related to the Democratic Party’s poor approval ratings. Despite the ruling party’s setbacks such as the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway preferential treatment allegations, flood damage, and Fukushima contaminated water discharge, the Democratic Party has not gained any reflected benefits.

Moreover, there is an analysis that internal concerns about ‘judicial risks’ have reignited as the prosecution is expected to request an arrest warrant for Lee next month regarding the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance allegations, which has led to the October resignation theory. According to a Gallup Korea survey conducted nationwide from the 25th to 27th among 1,002 adults aged 18 and over (with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; detailed information is available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website), the Democratic Party’s approval rating stood at 29%.

In fact, Lee himself appears to empathize with concerns inside and outside the party regarding his judicial risks. Representative Kim explained, “(Lee) once made a fundamental statement that if he does not win the next general election, the future of the democratic-progressive camp will be bleak, and he himself will have no political future,” adding, “I think that is why such scenarios have been created.”

He further analyzed, “Regarding the judicial risk issue, there are recent developments becoming current issues, but the party leadership is responding adequately,” and “Therefore, the assumption of a party convention before October is not very likely.”

Meanwhile, on the 28th, Lee Jae-myung held a dinner meeting with former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul, reportedly agreeing that “to stop the reckless actions of the Yoon Seok-youl government, we must win the general election.” The meeting, called the ‘Myeong-Nak meeting,’ was arranged after being postponed twice due to nationwide heavy rain, and showed signs of renewed factional conflict within the party as the two sides displayed differing tones over next general election strategies, with party unity emphasized by Lee Jae-myung and reform by Lee Nak-yeon.

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