DPK leader rejects former leader's call for resignation

Lee Jae-myung, left, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), enters a restaurant with former DPK leader Lee Nak-yon in central Seoul, Dec. 30. The two sides met for talks amid former leader Lee's calls for the current leader to step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the general election scheduled for next April. Yonhap

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), rejected former DPK leader Lee Nak-yon's call for his resignation, Saturday, after failing to patch up their differences.

The two sides met for talks in Seoul after the former party leader demanded Lee Jae-myung step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the general election scheduled for next April.

The current leader rejected both demands and called on the former leader to remain in the party during their meeting, according to DPK spokesperson Park Sung-joon in a briefing.

The former leader has vowed to launch a new party next year if Lee declines his proposal by the end of the year.

"I earnestly told him that leaving the party is not the path to go," Lee Jae-myung told reporters after the meeting.

The former leader told reporters that he will go his own way when asked about his future plans, effectively expressing his departure from the DPK. (Yonhap)