Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok resigned from the party leadership on the 26th.
At a press conference at the National Assembly that morning, Lee said, "For a little over three months after the local elections, I have wrestled with and proposed ways to strengthen and renew the party, but I did not gain enough support within the party," adding, "The responsibility for failing to persuade lies entirely with me as leader."
Lee said, "Ahead of us is a political timetable that cannot be put off. Political time waits for no one," adding, "I judged that we cannot meet that timetable without consensus on direction."
He continued, "If I was actually blocking what other members of the party wanted to do, I thought vacating that position was the path I should choose for the party," adding, "As a party member and as the lawmaker for Dongtan 2 New Town, I will do what I must in my place."
The Reform Party fielded candidates for metropolitan and basic government chiefs in major regions nationwide in the June 3 local elections, but most were defeated, winning only one basic council seat. In particular, after it belatedly emerged that Busan mayoral candidate Jeong Yi-han had staged an attack on himself, calls grew for the party leadership to take responsibility.
The Reform Party has three lawmakers: Lee Jun-seok, Cheon Ha-ram, and Lee Ju-young. Cheon Ha-ram and Lee Ju-young are proportional representatives.