Lee Jae-myung Embraces Byeong-gye Faction for Unity... Meeting with Kim Kyung-soo Today

On the 13th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will meet former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who is regarded as the political heir of the pro-Roh Moo-hyun (Pro-Roh) and pro-Moon Jae-in (Pro-Moon) factions, to take steps toward party unification. This is interpreted as a response to the growing calls for unity within the party, centered around the anti-Lee Jae-myung (Anti-Lee) faction.

On the afternoon of the 13th, Lee will meet Kim at the National Assembly main building cafeteria.

Kim appeared on JTBC’s ‘Oh Dae-young Live’ the previous afternoon and said, "I hope this will be an opportunity for the Democratic Party to find a way to protect democracy through a broad coalition and win the presidential election together."

A Democratic Party official said, "The two will talk without any aides present," adding, "There is no specific agenda set for the discussion."

On December 5 last year, Kim Kyung-soo, former governor of Gyeongnam Province, who was studying in Germany, hurriedly returned to Korea and visited the National Assembly. After meeting Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, he came out and greeted. Photo by Yonhap News

Their meeting comes about two months after the state of emergency was lifted, since December 5 last year.

Lee is also expected to hold consecutive meetings with former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and former Blue House Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok within this month. This is seen as a unification move in anticipation of a possible early presidential election.

This is a strategic move to put an end to the so-called ‘responsibility debate for regime change,’ which has been a source of tension between the Anti-Lee and Pro-Lee factions within the Democratic Party since the 2022 presidential election defeat.

Earlier, former President Moon Jae-in took responsibility for the 2022 presidential election defeat in an interview with Hankyoreh newspaper, attempting to quell the debate over election responsibility. Lee also responded on the YouTube broadcast ‘Kim Eo-jun’s Humility is Difficult News Factory,’ saying, "I bear the greatest responsibility for losing the presidential election."

Kim, who is also attracting attention as a presidential candidate, holds symbolic significance as former President Roh Moo-hyun’s ‘last secretary’ and is classified as a close aide of former President Moon Jae-in. Kim’s choice during the early presidential election process is a focal point of interest.

The Pro-Lee faction within the party expects factional conflicts to subside based on Lee’s ‘unification and inclusion’ efforts.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Lee faction is watching closely to see whether their demands for “apologies and inclusion for those excluded during the April 10 general election process” will be practically reflected.

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