Lee seeks primary rival's support to pursue unity within ruling party

Lee Jae-myung, right, the presidential candidate of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and former DPK leader Lee Nak-yon, grasp hands after their luncheon held in central Seoul, Thursday. The two ruling party heavyweights, who had competed fiercely in the party's presidential primary, have vowed to cooperate further for the DPK's victory in the presidential election slated for March 9. Joint Press Corps

By Jung Da-min

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has formally joined hands with former DPK leader Lee Nak-yon, seeking to find a breakthrough in the competition for the next presidential election slated for March 9.

Adding Lee Nak-yon, who had remained reclusive since his primary defeat, to the election campaign has been a major task for Lee Jae-myung, as he seeks to display the unity of the party and attract support from loyalists of President Moon Jae-in, as the former DPK chairman is one of Moon's closest aides, having served as prime minister from 2017 to 2020.

Their pledge for cooperation, intended to highlight party unity, also stands in contrast to the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), which is mired in internal feuds.

Holding a luncheon meeting in central Seoul, Thursday, the two Lees discussed strategies for winning the next presidential election and agreed to launch a new “committee of national vision and unity,” which they will lead together as co-chairmen under the party's election committee.

“Candidate Lee Jae-myung and I have agreed to work together for the victory of the DPK. We also decided to create a committee of national vision and unity and lead it as co-chairmen,” Lee Nak-yon said after the luncheon. “From now on, I might sometimes issue messages that are different from stances of the candidate or the party, but candidate Lee said he will also accept them.”

Lee Jae-myung said: “Respected former party leader Lee has played many roles for the DPK's victory so far. Now, he will participate in the organization needed at this moment to create the fourth liberal government.”

The two heavyweights had competed fiercely in the party's presidential primary. When the party's election camp for Lee Jae-myung was launched on Nov. 2, Lee Nak-yon assumed a role as a standing adviser. But 51 days later, the former DPK leader has come forward to actively engage in the party's campaign for the presidential race.

Lee Nak-yon's eventual participation comes as support rates continue to fall for the rival candidates of the country's two major parties ― Lee of the DPK and Yoon Suk-yeol of the PPP. Both Lee and Yoon have been under fire for alleged illegal activities involving themselves and their family members.

If the DPK succeeds in uniting its members through cooperation between Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jae-myung, it could become a turning point for the ruling party, as the PPP now struggles with internal feuds.

Yoon has had conflicts with some PPP figures, including party leader Lee Jun-seok and former interim chief Kim Chong-in, even before launching his election committee. Yoon then managed to resolve the conflicts and launched the campaign committee, Dec. 6, with Kim becoming the committee chief and Lee Jun-seok becoming standing committee co-chairman. But new conflicts have since emerged between the party leader and Yoon's other aides, which led Lee Jun-seok to quit all positions of the campaign committee.

While committee chief Kim is trying to resolve the internal feuds by taking stronger control over operations of the committee, conflicts are still continuing among party members, with some criticizing the party leader's moves while others support him.

Meantime, the support rates for the rival candidates have been decreasing in recent polls. For the first weeks after Yoon became the PPP's presidential candidate on Nov. 5, he enjoyed high popularity, but his lead on Lee has narrowed amid growing scandals surrounding family members of the candidates, to the point where Lee has taken the lead in some opinion polls recently.