Lee Nak-yeon and Non-Establishment Alliance Stoke the Fire... Lee Seok-hyun "Open Mind" Lee Won-wook "One of the Options"

Lee Nak-yeon, Possible Party Exit in Late Week
Opposition 'Principle and Common Sense' Alliance Likely
Lee Seok-hyun "Open Mind" Lee Won-wook "One Option"
Democratic Party Split Risk, Opposition Realignment Emerging

Former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Nak-yeon, is speaking after paying respects at the National May 18th Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju, on the morning of the 7th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon and the Principles and Common Sense group (Assemblymen Kim Jong-min, Yoon Young-chan, Lee Won-wook, and Cho Eung-cheon) are increasingly likely to form an alliance. Lee Seok-hyun, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly who is pushing for the creation of a new party aligned with Lee Nak-yeon, expressed a positive attitude on the radio on the 8th, saying he has an "open mind." Assemblyman Lee Won-wook also described it as "one of the options." The reorganization of the opposition, including splits, mergers, and unifications among members expected to leave the Democratic Party, is gaining momentum.

Lee Seok-hyun, who left the Democratic Party to join Lee Nak-yeon's new party, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 8th, when asked about the possibility of the four members of the Principles and Common Sense group joining Lee Nak-yeon's new party, "I can't say because it's their decision. But we could also join them. What matters is working together, and through that, achieving the greater cause of the new party." Although he said he had never discussed this with Lee Nak-yeon himself, he added, "We all want to work together, and I have an open mind," leaving the possibility open.

From the left, Democratic Party members Kim Jong-min, Jo Eung-cheon, Yoon Young-chan, and Lee Won-wook (Source=Yonhap News)

Assemblyman Lee Won-wook, a member of the Principles and Common Sense group, also referred to an alliance with Lee Nak-yeon's new party as "one of the options." On the same day, appearing on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' Lee said, "If we were to leave, I would like to play a role in bringing together many forces pushing for the creation of new parties, including former leader Lee Nak-yeon. It is one of the options we have."

He elaborated, "I think the public has a strong awareness of the problems with the current extreme polarized and hateful politics."

Meanwhile, Lee Seok-hyun denied speculation that the founding of the new party would be delayed due to the attack on leader Lee Jae-myung. He said, "The attack is truly unfortunate, but the timing of the general election is fixed. Creating a new party is not an emotional issue but a mission of the times. People who feel disgusted with the two-party politics have nowhere to turn, so we will provide them with an opportunity to participate and expand the political sphere."

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