Woo Sang-ho "Lee Jae-myung's Unipolar System?... Because Competitors Are Weak"

"Secret Activities?... What Jeon Du-hwan Often Said During Student Movements"

Amid criticism surrounding the newly established leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea as an "Lee Jae-myung one-polar system," former Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho dismissed it as "a problem arising because there is no competitor to challenge Lee Jae-myung."

On the 20th, Woo appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "The term 'one-polar system' means that Lee Jae-myung's presence and control have grown stronger," adding, "But Lee Jae-myung cannot be expected to nurture competitors. Asking him why he hasn't developed competitors and blaming him for the one-polar system is misguided. The weakness of competitors should not be attributed to Lee Jae-myung."

At the 37th anniversary memorial service for martyr Lee Han-yeol, Woo Sang-ho, chairman of the Lee Han-yeol Memorial Foundation, is delivering a greeting. Photo by Yonhap News

Woo stated, "However, to address the perception that the party belongs exclusively to a particular faction, when appointing supreme council members and nominated supreme council members, there should be a selection of representatives from various regions and social classes, not just those who are too pro-Lee or hardcore Lee supporters," emphasizing, "It is necessary to show Lee Jae-myung's approach to complementing integrative pluralism and diversity. This is a very important task."

Regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol's remarks about 'anti-state forces operating covertly,' Woo said, "The claim that such forces are operating everywhere in our society is something I heard most often from President Chun Doo-hwan during my student activism days," adding, "I don't know who advised him to use such expressions, but it reflects a very flawed mindset. It is also a cause for not properly listening to the opinions of those who oppose him during state governance."

He continued, "The perception that anti-government forces are anti-state forces is totalitarian thinking, not democratic thinking," and said, "If one holds the notion that 'I am the state, so those who oppose me are anti-state forces' and believes they must be eradicated, that is a very dangerous totalitarian mindset. Such expressions are often used toward the end of regimes and usually lead to their downfall. It is worrisome."

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