Lee Jae-myung declares bid for DPK chairmanship

Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea announces his bid to run for the party's chairmanship during a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday. Newsis

Ex-presidential candidate pledges to create 'winning party'

By Nam Hyun-woo

Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) declared his bid for the party's chairmanship, Sunday, in what is widely viewed as a move to increase his clout within the party to secure his candidacy for the next presidential election.

Although a comfortable win is anticipated for the former presidential candidate, Lee faces the tough task of resolving a fractional strife within the party between those who support him and lawmakers loyal to former President Moon Jae-in.

“There has been no change in the fact that that I am responsible for the (DPK's) defeat in the last presidential election and local elections,” Lee said during a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday.

“When it comes to taking responsibility, I think I should resolve the problems, without dodging them,” Lee said. “If the DPK fails to regain the public's trust, victories in next general election, local election and the presidential election will be difficult to achieve. … We will be departing from our losing history. I will change the DPK into a winning party.”

Lee's bid for the party's chairmanship was anticipated, but he took time in making the announcement for the race to be held on Aug. 28. The new chairman will be in charge of selecting DPK candidates for the general election next year.

Lee's bid is widely viewed as an attempt to learn from his defeat in the presidential election in March, where he lost to President Yoon Suk-yeol by a razor-thin margin.

Following the defeat in the presidential election, Lee ran in the June 1 by-elections to join the National Assembly, a move some DPK members criticized.

During the campaign, Lee faced divided support from within the party. Having no prior experience as a lawmaker, he had a hard time gathering the full support of the DPK's members. Supporters of then President Moon also either showed lukewarm support for Lee or turned their backs on him.

So far, nine DPK members have declared their bids to run in the Aug. 28 election. They include four second-term lawmakers _ Reps. Kang Byung-won, Kang Hoon-sik, Park Yong-jin and Park Ju-min _ five-term veteran Rep. Sul Hun, who jumped into the race to stop Lee from becoming the party chairman, and former DPK interim chief Park Ji-hyun.

In this Oct. 26, 2021, file photo, then-President Moon Jae-in, left, and then-Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung pose during Lee's visit to Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office in Jongno District, Seoul. Korea Times file

Patching up wounds

Even though a comfortable victory is widely anticipated for Lee, daunting tasks await the 57-year-old on his way to the chairmanship, due to the deepening feud between him and lawmakers close to Moon.

Reps. Hong Young-pyo and Jeon Hae-cheol, who are regarded as front-runners of the pro-Moon faction, have already called on Lee to quit his bid for the party chairmanship, citing his responsibility for the presidential election defeat.

The race for supreme council members, whose election will take place on the sidelines of the vote for the party chairman, is also escalating the rivalry between pro-Moon and pro-Lee factions. Reps. Yoon Young-chan and Ko Min-jung, who served as Moon's senior public communication secretary and spokesperson in 2017, respectively, have declared their bids, while Reps. Seo Young-kyo, Yang Yi Won-young, Jang Kyung-tae and Jung Chung-rae have jumped into the race from the pro-Lee faction.

With the election bound to turn into a mudslinging match, addressing factional infighting could be one of the most urgent tasks for Lee.

“To become a winning party, we should change ourselves,” Lee said. “Since I was not part of factional politics, I will reject all factional fighting and pursue the policy of unity.”