Lee Nak-yeon Targets Lee Jae-myung with Blunt Remarks... On 'Sadanghwa' Controversy, "Leadership Is Not Unrelated"

"Immune System Collapsing Due to Strong Supporters' Influence"
"Silent After Returning Home but 'Sadanghwa Resolution' Not Achieved, Frustrating"

On the 28th, Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly criticized Lee Jae-myung, the current party leader, regarding the controversy over the party's privatization, saying, "It is very regrettable. I think it is not unrelated to leadership." Until now, Lee had been cautious even in choosing a single word and had been sparing with his remarks, earning the nickname 'Strict Nak-yeon.' However, his determined statement on this day appears to reflect his judgment that factional conflicts within the Democratic Party have reached a serious level.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, after delivering the keynote speech at the forum titled "Republic of Korea, Beyond Crisis to a New Path," held by 'Yeondae wa Gongsaeng,' a think tank affiliated with the Lee Nak-yeon faction, at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Lee met with reporters and evaluated the party's push to reduce the delegate system by saying, "I regret the controversy over privatization." He also stated, "The dulling of moral sensitivity and the suppression of intra-party democracy are not unrelated to leadership," effectively targeting Lee Jae-myung.

Earlier, the Democratic Party passed a party constitution amendment at the party convention to increase the voting weight of party members with voting rights. Previously, the party constitution and regulations set the voting weight at the convention as 40% for party members with voting rights, 30% for delegates, 25% for general public opinion polls, and 5% for general party members. This was adjusted to 30% for the public and 70% for delegates and party members with voting rights. The proportion of votes from delegates and party members with voting rights was reduced from the current 60:1 to less than 20:1, effectively tripling the value of votes from party members with voting rights. This reflected demands from the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction and hardline supporters, sparking backlash mainly from the anti-Lee faction. The anti-Lee faction criticizes the reduction in the delegate system ratio as potentially strengthening fandom politics centered on Lee Jae-myung. Lee Nak-yeon also interpreted the reduction of the delegate system as having sparked the 'Lee Jae-myung privatization' controversy and thus delivered harsh criticism that day.

When asked by reporters about efforts to resolve the privatization issue, Lee replied, "Since returning to the country, I have remained silent for a long time and observed, but it is not going well, which is very frustrating." He added, "Those preparing for the upcoming general election need to gather wisdom and make decisions on this matter."

In his keynote speech that day, Lee also sharply pointed out that the party is being divided due to hardline supporters.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "The main opposition party, the Democratic Party, has lost the values and dignity it long upheld, and violent language filled with hostility and hatred toward both inside and outside is rampant." He continued, "In the past, the Democratic Party recovered its health through an immune system of internal diversity and democracy, but now that immune system has collapsed due to leadership and the influence of hardline supporters." He added, "When the immune system collapses, it cannot prevent disease and dies." This is interpreted as criticism that the current Lee Jae-myung leadership is running the party relying on the hardline supporters known as 'Gaeddal.' He also mentioned Lee's judicial risks, saying, "Moral sensitivity has dulled and the public's heart has become indifferent," and "Activities to present policies or visions have weakened, and even when policies are occasionally presented, they are overshadowed by judicial issues."

He also emphasized the need to resolve South Korea's 'political polarization' problem. Along with 'revitalizing intra-party democracy,' he proposed 'implementing a multiparty system' as a solution. Lee said, "As a result of the two major parties competing to 'disappoint the public,' the non-affiliated voter base has become thicker and stronger than before," and stressed, "The non-affiliated voters should be embraced in the National Assembly through a multiparty system." He warned, "What must be done immediately is to maintain the semi-linked proportional representation system on the premise of abandoning satellite parties," adding, "The parallel system will exacerbate the harms of political polarization."

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