Democratic Party? People Power Party?... Political Circle on Alert Over 'Lee Jae-myung Assailant' Party Affiliation

Political Pros and Cons Divided by Party Affiliation
If People Power Party, Justifies 'Opposition Party Terror'
If Democratic Party, Escalates Divisions Within Opposition
Calls for Caution in Interpreting Political Interests

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was attacked with a weapon on the morning of the 2nd at Gadeokdo, Busan. The photo shows the suspect (a man in his 60s) who attacked Lee Jae-myung.

The political sphere is on high alert over the ‘party affiliation’ of the suspect who attacked Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. If confirmed to be a member of the People Power Party, the justification for this being a ‘political terror against the opposing party’ becomes stronger, whereas if found to be a Democratic Party member, it could escalate into a division within the opposition party.

On the 4th, political circles reported that Kim, who wielded a weapon against Lee, joined the Democratic Party in April 2023 and had been following Lee’s movements for over a year. He was also spotted during Lee’s schedule in Busan on December 13 last year. The police are investigating whether Kim held membership in the People Power Party before joining the Democratic Party. The People Power Party confirmed that a person with the same name as Kim held party membership, but stated it is unclear whether the party member and the suspect Kim are the same individual.

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sung-tae appeared on ‘BBC Jeon Young-shin’s Morning Journal’ that day and said, “It is true that he was a member during the time of the former Grand National Party, but it has also been revealed that he changed his party affiliation,” adding, “The suspect appears to make politically extreme right-wing or left-wing judgments, and since this reclusive political hooligan caused the incident, the facts about this person must be clearly revealed.” Democratic Party lawmaker Lee So-young appeared on ‘KBS Jeon Jong-cheol’s Jeonggyeok Sisa’ and said, “We are looking into his past party affiliation and his current membership status after recently joining,” but refrained from further comment.

However, experts appearing on ‘SBS Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show’ said it is not appropriate at this stage to interpret the political repercussions based on the suspect’s party affiliation. Jang Sung-chul, director of the Public Opinion Center, said, “There has been no official confirmation regarding party affiliation, and there has been no statement from the opposition party leader. Political analysis at this stage is inappropriate.” Yoon Tae-gon, head of the DeMoA Political Analysis Office, said, “Now is the time for the political world to reflect on its hate and animosity frames,” adding, “It is not the stage to interpret advantages or disadvantages based on party affiliation.”

There was an assessment that this incident differs in context from the cutter knife attack on former President Park Geun-hye. Yoon said, “At that time, it was an election season and the Uri Party was at a disadvantage compared to the Liberty Korea Party,” adding, “Now, with 98 days left until the election and the support rates of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party being similar, it is difficult to compare on the same level.” Political commentator Kim Sang-il said, “It is first necessary to interpret this as a facet of social crisis,” pointing out, “The principle of democratic society is not to carry out ‘private sanctions,’ but that has collapsed.” Yoon also criticized, “In political issues, harsh words and attacks have raised the threshold, and the culture of over-immersion in politics using anonymity as a weapon is problematic.”

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