Ruling party leader gets big boost for presidential ambition

New Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Nak-yon delivers a speech from his home, Aug, 29, following the DPK convention held online in light of the stronger social distancing rules for pandemic prevention. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon's victory Saturday in the race for chairmanship of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was undoubtedly one of the highlights in an already illustrious political resume. Now that he has succeeded in becoming the leader of the ruling party, the biggest question is whether he will be able to show the kind of leadership befitting of a prospective presidential candidate.

The first prime minister of the Moon Jae-in administration, Lee had consistently taken the top place in favorability surveys of candidates for the next presidential election in 2022. But Lee's popularity has been waning as public sentiment turned negative toward President Moon and his administration over a series of policy missteps in housing and the economy in general. A favorability survey for presidential candidates published earlier this month showed that Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung was ahead of Lee.

The new DPK chairman is largely expected to leave the post next March to prepare for the presidential race. So it will be crucial for him to produce actual results in improving the peoples' lives and salvaging public support for the ruling party in the coming months.

Political insiders say the immediate public judgment of his leadership will come at the by-election in April 2021 for selecting mayors in Seoul and Busan. “The most important thing is to prepare for the by-elections in 2021 and the presidential election in 2022,” former DPK Chairman Lee Hae-chan was quoted as saying after his phone conversation with his successor, Saturday.

A former governor of South Jeolla Province, Lee served five terms in the National Assembly and was one of the longest-serving prime ministers. He has extensive administrative experience both at the central and regional government level as well as the Assembly. But Lee cannot rest on his laurels, particularly when considering the cases of past prime ministers who were considered top contenders for the presidential race but failed to achieve their ultimate political dream.

As the new DPK chairman, Rep. Lee's first priority will be to help the nation overcome the socio-economic crisis arising from the COVID-19. “The mission from the people in this national crisis is clear,'' Lee said in his acceptance speech from his home after the online party convention. “We will win this war against COVID-19 and protect the people.”

In addition, stronger cooperation with the opposition will be one of his primary objectives. The DPK, with 176 seats out of 300, has been heavily criticized by the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) for its unilateral management of the 21st Assembly since its onset in July.

“Lee must terminate the tyranny of the ruling party,” UFP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young said in a Facebook post. “I hope the ruling and opposition parties will put their heads together in earnest on national issues, including the war against COVID-19.”