[Opinion] There Is No 'Prestigious Political Party'

On November 20, 2021, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, who visited Hwaji Market in Nonsan, Chungnam, made the following statement: "I will make it not Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party, but the Democratic Party of Lee Jae-myung." Immediately, there was strong criticism both inside and outside the Democratic Party, saying, "Are you trying to turn the Democratic Party into Lee Jae-myung's personal party?" This phrase, which had been forgotten for a while, is now being circulated again inside and outside the Democratic Party as the candidate selection process proceeds.

Representative Lee said, "Change inevitably makes noise. Resistance and protest are natural processes," showing an attitude of disregard. However, the cracks are growing day by day. The exclusion of former presidential secretary Im Jong-seok, who was running in Jungseong-dong Gap, Seoul, from the candidate selection became the fuse. As so-called 'pro-Moon (pro Moon Jae-in)' forces were consecutively excluded from the candidate selection, discussions about 'pro-Moon factionalization' are underway. Various scenarios are being discussed, including leaving the party to form a 'pro-Moon coalition' or joining the New Future Party. On February 4, former President Moon Jae-in visited Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, and spoke to Representative Lee about the "Myungmoon (Lee Jae-myung and Moon Jae-in) Party," which now seems ironic. Coincidentally, centrifugal force increased from then on. Why did this happen?

Representative Lee said, "Good candidates are being selected through a system and transparent screening." This is an excuse that it is not intentional but done by the system, so he cannot help it. It is an empty phrase. The reasons why the candidate selection is interpreted as 'replacement of forces from pro-Moon to pro-Myung' and 'elimination of potential presidential rivals' are clear. However, it seems that this is not the only reason. What is newly drawing attention is the bad relationship between Representative Lee and the 'pro-Moon' faction.

Regarding this, a former lawmaker I recently met shared an interesting story. "In 2019, I met Representative Lee, who was then the governor of Gyeonggi Province. It was after he was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won in the appellate court for false information disclosure under the Public Official Election Act related to the 'forced hospitalization of his elder brother' case. He was acquitted in the first trial, but when the appellate court ruled this way, Representative Lee was agitated, mentioning the possibility that Im Jong-seok, then a key figure in the Blue House, and Cho Kuk, the senior secretary for civil affairs, might have manipulated the prosecution behind the scenes." For Representative Lee, if the sentence was finally confirmed by the Supreme Court, it would have been a critical situation where he would lose his governorship and be disqualified from running for office.

There was also a delicate moment in September 2018. At that time, Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul, and Choi Moon-soon, the governor of Gangwon Province, were included in the North-South summit delegation to Pyongyang, but Lee Jae-myung, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, was excluded. Looking back, there was also the 2017 presidential candidate competition between Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung, followed by the so-called 'Hyekyunggum Kimssi' Twitter real owner controversy. The conflict between the two sides began to sprout then. The difference is that while Moon Jae-in held the power then, now Lee Jae-myung holds it.

Representative Lee, who may remember those times, might also recall the post former Secretary Im wrote on Facebook on July 5, 2022. "When I see behavior that deviates from basics and common sense, I feel ashamed. When a family member behaves like this, I get angry, ashamed, and embarrassed, and want to hide somewhere. After the presidential election, the behavior of the Democratic Party's party leader and presidential candidate was like that." Therefore, there is no 'Myungmoon Party.'

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