Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, met on the 21st with former lawmaker Park Yong-jin, who represents the non-Lee Jae-myung faction. This meeting comes as he is intensifying efforts for 'intra-party unity,' having directly met with former lawmaker Park, who was unable to secure a nomination in the last general election.
On that day, Lee met with former lawmaker Park at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, for a lunch meeting. The meeting lasted about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Prior to entering the restaurant, former lawmaker Park met with reporters and said, "We need to overcome our bad ties and join forces for the victory of the Democratic Party."
He noted, "The public is anxious about the prospect of a coup-following faction regaining power. To prevent the resurgence of this faction and to achieve a complete victory for the people, a victory of democracy that is irreversible, we must all unite." He added, "In the face of this noble cause, personal interests must be set aside."
Former lawmaker Park's remark about 'personal interests' is interpreted as a reference to the bad ties that arose during the nomination process.
Previously, former lawmaker Park was not nominated in the recent 22nd general election. He received a notification that he was in the lowest 10% in the evaluation of incumbent lawmakers' performance, resulting in a 30% deduction. Despite three rounds of primaries, he failed to secure a nomination, and the term "non-Lee Jae-myung faction's demise" was even mentioned as members of this faction were also excluded from nominations.
Seemingly aware of this, Lee expressed his apologies to former lawmaker Park during their lunch. He said, "Thank you for joining me despite the difficult situation, Mr. Park. It must be quite hard for you," and added, "As I have been working on party matters, it has also been challenging for me, as many are suffering from internal conflicts within the party."
In response, former lawmaker Park said, "It is tough. The events during the election process are painful memories for me," but he also emphasized, "We must join forces to allay the public's worries and concerns and to prevent the coup-following faction from maintaining its privileges."
Lee then remarked, "Isn't this a really serious phase? On one hand, politics isn't a personal business; it is a public role for the people," adding, "I believe our role is to overcome the current crisis effectively. Within that, Mr. Park will have a role, and I hope we can create even greater roles together in the future."
Kim Sung-ho, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, met with reporters immediately after the meeting and noted, "Former lawmaker Park conveyed to Lee that he hopes he will inherit the assets of the Moon Jae-in administration, listen to various opinions within the party, and demonstrate an image of reform such as generational change."
Earlier, Lee met with Kim Kyung-soo, former governor of South Gyeongsang, who is part of the pro-Moon Jae-in faction and the non-Lee Jae-myung faction. On the 24th, he plans to meet with former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, followed by former Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok on the 27th and Governor of Gyeonggi Province Kim Dong-yeon on the 28th, continuing his efforts to appease the non-Lee Jae-myung faction.