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PPP floor leader slams first 100 days of Lee's presidency

Published: 10 Sep. 2025, 14:41

Rep. Song Eon-seog, floor leader of the People Power Party, delivers a speech for his parliamentary negotiating bloc during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 10, raising his voice toward lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party. [YONHAP]

The floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday criticized President Lee Jae Myung's first 100 days in office as "utter chaos" and accused him of pursuing a policy toward North Korea that undermines national security.

Rep. Song Eon-seog made the remarks in his first policy address to the first regular National Assembly session since Lee took office in June, urging the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to halt what it called a "reckless" legislative drive and "one-party dictatorship."

"The economy and people's livelihoods are collapsing under all these anti-business and anti-market policies that block investment and take away jobs, while security is being dismantled by a humiliatingly submissive North Korea policy caught up in an illusion," he said. "The past 100 days can be defined as a time of utter chaos under an incompetent ruler."

Song accused the administration and the DP of seeking political retribution by framing the opposition as a party that incited "insurrection" amid the ongoing special counsel probe into ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid.

He also took issue with the DP's push to pass three revision bills to extend special counsel probes into Yoon's martial law charges, allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee, and a 2023 military investigation into the death of a young Marine.

"The political special counsels have already become a tool of political retaliation, and the oppression toward the opposition knows no end," he said, vowing to fight against the DP's "legislative rampage."

Rep. Song Eon-seog, floor leader of the People Power Party, speaks at a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 10. [NEWS1]

The DP, which currently holds a parliamentary majority with 167 out of 298 seats, has been pushing to pass the revision, along with several other contentious bills on reforms of the prosecution, judiciary and media.

The PPP has argued that these probes are politically motivated, while the DP says they are necessary to uncover the truth and ensure accountability.

Song further criticized Lee's recent summit with U.S. President Donald Trump as an "empty-handed" meeting, citing the detention of more than 300 South Korean workers in Georgia last week during a U.S. immigration raid at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant run by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution.

Calling for a "firm and effective" North Korea policy, Song urged the government not to "repeat the mistakes" of the previous Moon Jae-in administration and to abandon what he described as a humiliating stance that "throws away the nation's dignity and self-respect."

Since he took office, Lee has taken a conciliatory approach to North Korea, halting cross-border loudspeaker broadcasts and urging them to return to dialogue.

Yonhap