Latest news with #non-LeeJae-myung
Korea Herald
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung says overcoming partisanship key to surviving Trump's tariffs
Conservative critical of Yoon Suk Yeol to join Democratic Party of Korea presidential campaign Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential nominee, called for a transcending of partisan divide to navigate trade challenges posed by the second Donald Trump administration's tariff policy. Lee said in this "survival of the fittest" environment, induced in part by Trump's tariffs, a "one Korea, one team" approach is required. The Democratic Party's task force responding to Trump's tariff policy held a meeting on Monday where it said acting President Han Duck-soo should leave room for the next administration to finalize trade negotiations with the US. Kim Hyun-chong, the former deputy director of the National Security Office heading the task force, said the interim administration under Han should limit its role to "laying the foundation for the incoming administration, which will assume office in 37 days, to do the rest of the work." Kim said that Han should "work closely with the National Assembly in his trade talks with Washington, and not get ahead." Lee, in his nomination acceptance speech on Sunday, had also stressed national unity in the face of "the new global order brought on by the second Trump term." Also on Monday, the Democratic Party said Yoon Yeo-joon, a former environment minister who has been vocal in his criticism of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was joining Lee's election committee, slated to formally launch later this week. Recruiting a conservative figure to one of the top posts in the campaign is seen as a move intended to secure the support of voters outside the Democratic Party's base. As party chair, Lee had previously sought to reframe the Democratic Party's image, describing it as "centrist conservative" — part of a broader effort to shed his reputation as a hard-line liberal and appeal to a wider swath of the electorate. Lee stepped down from the post to run for the presidency. Bringing in the former environment minister is in line with Lee's emphasis on "overcoming political camps" and "prioritizing merit over political affiliation" in the speech he delivered after winning the party's nomination for president on Sunday. "The former minister is someone I have counted on for advice in the past. I have asked him if he would be willing to lead the committee, and thankfully, he has accepted the offer," Lee told reporters Monday morning. Democratic Party bigwigs considered part of the non-Lee Jae-myung faction, such as Kim Boo-kyum, who was prime minister under the party's former President Moon Jae-in, are also rumored to join Lee's campaign. Reaching out to voters outside the Democratic Party's support base has been cited as one of Lee's prime concerns. According to a Democratic Party insider, Lee is distancing himself from his signature policy of universal basic income that has been widely criticized by those leaning conservative, as he looks to attract broader support from voters. Lee said at a meeting with party leaders on Monday that the pressing task for the next leader of South Korea is to bring the country together. "The challenges facing our country are too dire to get bogged down in divisive politics," he said, saying he aspires to be a candidate who "represents all of South Korea, not just the party." In his first public appearance as the party's nominee on Monday, Lee paid his respects to late conservative Presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee and Kim Young-sam at the Seoul National Cemetery, in a display of his efforts to transcend partisanship.
Korea Herald
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Conservative critical of Yoon Suk Yeol to join liberal presidential campaign
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential nominee, has tapped a "conservative strategist" to lead his election steering committee, his campaign office said Monday. The Democratic Party said Yoon Yeo-joon, the former environment minister who has been vocal in his criticism of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was joining Lee's election committee, slated to formally launch later this week. Recruiting a conservative figure to one of the top posts in the campaign is seen as a move intended to secure the support of voters outside the Democratic Party's base. As party chair, Lee had previously sought to reframe the Democratic Party's image, describing it as "centrist conservative" — part of a broader effort to shed his reputation as a hard-line liberal and appeal to a wider swath of the electorate. Lee stepped down from the post to run for the presidency. Bringing in the former environment minister is in line with Lee's stress on "overcoming political camps" and "prioritizing merit over political affiliation" in the speech he delivered after winning the party's nomination for president on Sunday. "The former minister is someone I have counted on for advice in the past. I have asked him if he would be willing to lead the committee, and thankfully, he has accepted the offer," Lee told reporters Monday morning. Democratic Party bigwigs considered part of the non-Lee Jae-myung faction, such as Kim Boo-kyum, who was prime minister under the party's former President Moon Jae-in, are also rumored to join Lee's campaign. Reaching out to voters outside the Democratic Party's support base has been cited as one of the prime concerns for Lee. According to a Democratic Party insider, Lee is distancing himself from his signature policy of universal basic income that has been widely criticized by those leaning conservative, as he looks to attract broader support from voters. Lee said at a meeting with party leaders on Monday that the pressing task for the next leader of South Korea is to bring the country together. "The challenges facing our country are too dire to get bogged down in divisive politics," he said, saying he aspires to be a candidate who "represents all of South Korea, not just the party." In his first public appearance as the party's nominee on Monday, Lee paid his respect to late conservative Presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee and Kim Young-sam at the Seoul National Cemetery, in a display of his efforts to transcend partisanship.
Korea Herald
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung dominates presidential matchups
Rival parties likely to finalize candidates by early May The handful of other presidential hopefuls in the Democratic Party of Korea is overshadowed by the party's leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who was narrowly beaten by Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 presidential election. By contrast, the People Power Party's pool of potential presidential candidates continues to grow in the absence of a standout candidate. Lee, despite pending criminal cases against him, remains the dominant pick among potential contenders in the Democratic Party, according to recent polls. The Democratic Party leader also has an overwhelming lead over every single one of the six prominent conservatives poised to run, according to a projection of a hypothetical one-on-one presidential race released by Gallup Korea on Tuesday. Of his six conservative rivals, Lee beat Han Dong-hoon, the former People Power Party leader, by the largest margin of 21 percentage points at 52 percent to 31 percent. Lee also led Yoon's labor minister, Kim Moon-soo, the strong favorite among hardline supporters of the ousted president, by 20 percentage points at 55 percent to 35 percent. Lee scored 51 percent against 34 percent held by People Power Party Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who headed Yoon's transition team, marking a lead of 17 percentage points. Between Lee and Yoo Seong-min, who was once a close aide of former conservative President Park Geun-hye, the Democratic Party leader had a lead of 17 percentage points at 49 percent to 32 percent. Against Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, a conservative stronghold, Lee was ahead by 16 percentage points at 52 percent to 36 percent. Lee's closest rival was Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, whom the Democratic Party leader still led by a gap of 15 percentage points at 52 percent to 37 percent. Tuesday's Gallup Korea poll surveyed 1,008 eligible voters from April 6-7 via a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system. More about the poll can be found on the National Election Commission website. Lee's commanding lead in the run-up to the election, set for June 3, is rendering a potential Democratic Party primary increasingly pointless, party insiders say. Lee is known for his hardcore base of supporters, more so than any of his contemporaries, a fact for which he was criticized by those in the Democratic Party's non-Lee Jae-myung faction as "playing toxic fandom politics" over the course of the party's convention last year. At last year's Democratic Party convention, Lee was elected party chair a second time, winning 85 percent of the vote. His then-rival for the party chairpersonship, Kim Doo-kwan, a former Democratic Party lawmaker, fell far short at just 12 percent. This makes him all the more likely to win the Democratic Party primary due to take place later this month. The People Power Party, on the other hand, does not have a single candidate it can rally around, with nearly a dozen hopefuls expected to be lining up.
