Who will wipe the blood off Lee’s hands?
Published: 28 Feb. 2024, 20:17
The majority opposition Democratic Party (DP) is falling apart. Rep. Ko Min-jung, who served as a spokesperson for former President Moon Jae-in, resigned as a member of the party’s top decision-making supreme council after her previous boss and Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok failed to get nominated to run in his former constituency in Seoul.
Rep. Park Young-soon became the latest to abandon the party among DP members who are less loyal to party leader Lee Jae-myung. During the party congress, the non-partisan members like Sul Hoon and followers of former president Moon vowed to take a collective action, preluding a head-on collision between members loyal to the current party head and former president.
DP Chairman Lee is largely blamed for the rift in the party’s nomination process because he has made little effort to unite various factions and instead used the nomination to push out antagonists to strengthen his foothold in the party and as the next presidential candidate.
The loyalists to the party leader eliminated his critics from nominations through a cutoff based on a dubious evaluation report and recruited outside supporters of Lee as candidates for the April 10 parliamentary elections. The party leadership did not nominate Im despite urgings from party veterans. It is not that Im is flawless, as he is accountable for many misdeeds under the Moon administration. But casting him out despite his formidable standing against Yun Hee-suk — the candidate for the same constituency from the governing People Power Party — strongly implies an ulterior motive.
Instead of explaining the grounds for the evaluation to complaining members, Lee Jae-myung humiliated them more by saying with a chuckle, “One candidate even got zero from an evaluation from peers.” How can such a leader earn respect from the party members, not to mention the broad people?
Internal strife always followed the nomination process during election season. But such a monopolistic practice was unseen at the majority party four years ago. The bottom 20-percent evaluation report was also issued during the last nomination process, but the protests died down after then-party chief Lee Hae-chan bowed out of the election race.
At the time, the DP was not divided based on lawmakers’ allegiance to the party leader. The nomination is being steered to favor Lee and his faction entirely. Many silently agree with Rep. Noh Woong-rae who protests discrimination from his party for abandoning him for bribery charge even though the party head is also accused of the same crime.
Lee loyalists must voluntarily relinquish their bids and candidacy in the election.
Rep. Park Young-soon became the latest to abandon the party among DP members who are less loyal to party leader Lee Jae-myung. During the party congress, the non-partisan members like Sul Hoon and followers of former president Moon vowed to take a collective action, preluding a head-on collision between members loyal to the current party head and former president.
DP Chairman Lee is largely blamed for the rift in the party’s nomination process because he has made little effort to unite various factions and instead used the nomination to push out antagonists to strengthen his foothold in the party and as the next presidential candidate.
The loyalists to the party leader eliminated his critics from nominations through a cutoff based on a dubious evaluation report and recruited outside supporters of Lee as candidates for the April 10 parliamentary elections. The party leadership did not nominate Im despite urgings from party veterans. It is not that Im is flawless, as he is accountable for many misdeeds under the Moon administration. But casting him out despite his formidable standing against Yun Hee-suk — the candidate for the same constituency from the governing People Power Party — strongly implies an ulterior motive.
Instead of explaining the grounds for the evaluation to complaining members, Lee Jae-myung humiliated them more by saying with a chuckle, “One candidate even got zero from an evaluation from peers.” How can such a leader earn respect from the party members, not to mention the broad people?
Internal strife always followed the nomination process during election season. But such a monopolistic practice was unseen at the majority party four years ago. The bottom 20-percent evaluation report was also issued during the last nomination process, but the protests died down after then-party chief Lee Hae-chan bowed out of the election race.
At the time, the DP was not divided based on lawmakers’ allegiance to the party leader. The nomination is being steered to favor Lee and his faction entirely. Many silently agree with Rep. Noh Woong-rae who protests discrimination from his party for abandoning him for bribery charge even though the party head is also accused of the same crime.
Lee loyalists must voluntarily relinquish their bids and candidacy in the election.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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