[Opinion] The Third Force Cannot Rely on Just the 'Big Tent'

Lee Nak-yeon Likely to Gain Momentum This Week Including Party Departure
Must Present New Political Behavior, Values, and Vision

The so-called 'third force' is gaining momentum. It is not falling behind in the flow of issues in the New Year political landscape. At the center is former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok. He is actively responding to media interview requests and throwing out issues. He is criticizing the People Power Party, saying, "There are quite a few Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK) lawmakers who will move if there are reckless nomination decisions." On the other hand, he is swiftly pushing forward online and street recruitment of party members together with Cheon Ha-ram, Heo Eun-ah, and Lee Gi-in, co-chairpersons of the Reform New Party's founding committee. This movement centered on TK is a 'root shaking strategy.' It is a tactic aimed at shaking the People Power Party by targeting its core support base.

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok is recruiting party members on the street on the afternoon of the 6th at Suseongmot, Suseong-gu, Daegu, together with co-founding preparation committee chairs Cheon Ha-ram, Lee Gi-in, and Heo Eun-ah.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

When I met former leader Lee last October, he said, "It seems to be about 200,000." He estimated the size of the party members supporting him to be around that number. Since the People Power Party has about 830,000 members, that means about a quarter. This estimate was based on the fact that Committee Chairman Cheon received 14.98% of the vote when he ran for the People Power Party leadership election on March 8 last year. In any case, this time former leader Lee secured over 40,000 party members within four days of posting a party member recruitment notice on his Facebook. At least the initial results do not look bad.

The 'Big Tent' is gaining rapid momentum. A close aide of former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon told a reporter on the phone, "It has become a situation where we have no choice but to work with former leader Lee Jun-seok." Currently, the 'Lee Nak-yeon New Party' is struggling to gain traction. Causes include failed alliances with former Prime Ministers Kim Boo-kyum and Chung Sye-kyun, backlash from Honam, and insufficient participation from the younger generation. However, as seen from his visit to Gwangju on the 7th, former leader Lee's determination is firm. He plans to declare his departure from the Democratic Party and the founding of a new party within this week. He claims that the Democratic Party has become 'Lee Jae-myung's private party' and describes the new party as 'the reconstruction and expansion of the opposition.' He expects that when the nomination phase comes, incumbent lawmakers will also change their minds.

Former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Nak-yeon, is kneeling and paying respects at the National May 18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju, on the morning of the 7th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Members of the Democratic Party's non-Lee Jae-myung faction 'Principles and Common Sense,' including lawmakers Kim Jong-min, Lee Won-wook, Cho Eung-cheon, and Yoon Young-chan, are also likely to leave the party this week. Having demanded reform plans from leader Lee but received no response, if they leave, they are expected to serve as stepping stones to realize the 'Big Tent.'

At the book launch event of Yang Hyang-ja, leader of 'Korea's Hope,' on the 9th, all the 'Big Tent' candidates including Lee Nak-yeon, Lee Jun-seok, and Geum Tae-seop will gather. After this day, the movement to leave the Democratic Party will also intensify. Therefore, this week is expected to be an important period to gauge the scale of the 'third force.' The fact that Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, and former leader Lee are not dominating the issues in terms of figures or policies is also helping to grow the flow of the 'third force.'

However, to achieve meaningful political consolidation, the 'Big Tent' alone is not enough. The founders of the new party must first put themselves aside and open their hearts. They must also present new political behaviors, values, and visions to the public. And they must position figures who can symbolize these at the forefront. Only then can it be evaluated that they have met not only the necessary conditions but also the sufficient conditions.

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