Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party, said on the 23rd, "The Democratic Party is fundamentally a centrist party, and when progressive values are more important in the context of the times, its role as a progressive centrist has been significant."
Regarding his recent remark that "the Democratic Party is a centrist and conservative party," Lee noted on his Facebook amid controversy, "In the current situation, where the People Power Party has revealed its far-right nature and has given up even a formal conservative role, the Democratic Party's role as a centrist conservative is more important."
He explained, "Progressive and conservative are relative depending on the circumstances of the times," adding, "According to the standards of Western advanced countries, the Democratic Party is either a conservative party or very close to one, as pointed out by figures like Kim Dae-jung, Moon Jae-in, and Lee Hee-chan." He further elaborated, "Even if we stand in the same place, if the situation changes, the right can become the left."
He pointed out, "The conservative party that falsely claimed to be conservative, the People Power Party, is revealing its far-right nature by embracing Yoon Seok-youl and Jeon Kwang-hoon, abandoning even the role of 'superficial conservatism' and embarking on the path of a criminal party."
Lee emphasized, "The Democratic Party must be responsible for restoring constitutional order, upholding the rule of law, and recovering growth, responsibilities that the People Power Party has discarded and abandoned," stating, "The Democratic Party has not shifted right; rather, the world has changed, and the priority tasks that the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung focus on have changed."
He continued, "The far-right criminal party, the People Power Party, believes in the strength of the far-right and is approaching the dawn when it will deny criminal leader Yoon Seok-youl while abandoning the guise of conservatism. When will they apologize to the nation with a great bow after threatening them with the sword of martial law, while whispering sweet words but harboring a knife in their belly?"