Lee Kwang-jae: "Lee Nak-yeon Abruptly Formed New Party Without Consensus... Should Have Discussed Internally First"

"Democratic Party Joint Signature... Showing 'Unity' Will"

Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the National Assembly, criticized former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon for pushing to establish a new party without consensus within the party.

On the 18th, Secretary General Lee appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and said, "I think former leader Lee talked about the new party too early," adding, "We need to unite our strength and fight together to win in this general election, but suddenly talking about a new party has made the party members feel very bewildered."

Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the National Assembly, is responding to a question from Jang Kyung-tae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, about the necessity of subscribing to news agencies during the full meeting of the Steering Committee held at the National Assembly on the 10th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

He continued, "With only a few days left until the election, rather than openly criticizing, shouldn't there be enough internal discussion?" and pointed out, "However, by suddenly bringing up the new party, I think the internal momentum has been greatly lost."

Regarding the joint signature of about 100 Democratic Party lawmakers opposing former leader Lee's new party formation, he said it reflects the urgency of the current situation. Secretary General Lee stated, "Through this election, the public must firmly reprimand President Yoon Suk-yeol’s policy direction shift, saying 'this one-way street cannot continue.' Isn't this an expression of the will to unite?"

On the calls for personnel reform within the Democratic Party following the non-candidacy declaration of Jang Je-won, a key pro-Yoon Suk-yeol People Power Party lawmaker, and the resignation of former People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun, he emphasized, "Representative Lee Jae-myung was elected by party members, and there is no one to lead the Democratic Party without him."

Secretary General Lee added, "On the other hand, as the election approaches, Representative Lee will have to continue his trial, so that issue must also be overcome," and predicted, "If Representative Lee Jae-myung meets with Kim Boo-kyum and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun this time, I believe a path will open."

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