New DPK leader should focus on people's livelihoods
Rep. Lee Jae-myung has become the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) by winning 77.7 percent of the votes during the party's national convention held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in southeastern Seoul, Sunday.
His ascendance to the party's leadership came about five months after he lost the March 9 presidential election to Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party (PPP) by a slight margin of 0.73 percentage point. Lee managed to consolidate his position as his associates, such as Reps. Jung Chung-rae and Park Chan-dae, took four of the five Supreme Council seats. This is likely to provide him with the momentum to steer the party.
Lee's election certainly reflected party members' aspirations for him to transform the DPK into a stronger opposition party so that it can better keep the Yoon administration and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) in check after the DPK lost power for the first time in five years. They might have needed a new powerful leader who can rebuild the party and retake control in the next presidential race.
Party members seem to expect Lee to exercise strong leadership to make the DPK gain the upper hand over the ruling camp. It is necessary for an opposition party to play its role of countering the government and the ruling party. Yet the current situation requires a different approach. Now the people are suffering acuter economic and financial difficulties due to mounting challenges such as soaring inflation, the weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar, and higher interest rates. It is time for both the ruling and opposition parties to join efforts to tide over looming economic woes.
Encouragingly, Lee vowed in an acceptance speech to focus on enhancing the people's livelihoods. "I will proactively cooperate with the ruling camp if it is for the sake of the people and their better future." On Monday, Lee reiterated his proposal to meet with President Yoon to discuss pending issues. "We need to brainstorm to extract solutions," he said. We welcome Lee's stress for bipartisan cooperation to improve people's living conditions.
The DPK should learn from its defeats in the presidential and local elections, which were attributed to policy failures to stabilize housing prices, create jobs and boost the economy. The new party leader needs to reflect on a set of corruption allegations raised against him and his wife. First of all, he must make sincere efforts to clear up suspicions that he was deeply implicated in a corruption scandal surrounding lucrative land development projects in Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province.
Yoon's approval rating has fallen to the 20-percent level due to his nepotism-based appointments of Cabinet ministers, ill-conceived policies, and the internal fighting in the PPP. Yet the DPK has failed to benefit from Yoon's poor performance and the PPP's deepening power struggle. Many people remain skeptical about the future of the DPK, which appears unable to revamp itself. Now, Lee and the DPK should do their best to better serve the people and the nation.
Rep. Lee Jae-myung has become the chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) by winning 77.7 percent of the votes during the party's national convention held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in southeastern Seoul, Sunday.
His ascendance to the party's leadership came about five months after he lost the March 9 presidential election to Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party (PPP) by a slight margin of 0.73 percentage point. Lee managed to consolidate his position as his associates, such as Reps. Jung Chung-rae and Park Chan-dae, took four of the five Supreme Council seats. This is likely to provide him with the momentum to steer the party.
Lee's election certainly reflected party members' aspirations for him to transform the DPK into a stronger opposition party so that it can better keep the Yoon administration and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) in check after the DPK lost power for the first time in five years. They might have needed a new powerful leader who can rebuild the party and retake control in the next presidential race.
Party members seem to expect Lee to exercise strong leadership to make the DPK gain the upper hand over the ruling camp. It is necessary for an opposition party to play its role of countering the government and the ruling party. Yet the current situation requires a different approach. Now the people are suffering acuter economic and financial difficulties due to mounting challenges such as soaring inflation, the weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar, and higher interest rates. It is time for both the ruling and opposition parties to join efforts to tide over looming economic woes.
Encouragingly, Lee vowed in an acceptance speech to focus on enhancing the people's livelihoods. "I will proactively cooperate with the ruling camp if it is for the sake of the people and their better future." On Monday, Lee reiterated his proposal to meet with President Yoon to discuss pending issues. "We need to brainstorm to extract solutions," he said. We welcome Lee's stress for bipartisan cooperation to improve people's living conditions.
The DPK should learn from its defeats in the presidential and local elections, which were attributed to policy failures to stabilize housing prices, create jobs and boost the economy. The new party leader needs to reflect on a set of corruption allegations raised against him and his wife. First of all, he must make sincere efforts to clear up suspicions that he was deeply implicated in a corruption scandal surrounding lucrative land development projects in Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province.
Yoon's approval rating has fallen to the 20-percent level due to his nepotism-based appointments of Cabinet ministers, ill-conceived policies, and the internal fighting in the PPP. Yet the DPK has failed to benefit from Yoon's poor performance and the PPP's deepening power struggle. Many people remain skeptical about the future of the DPK, which appears unable to revamp itself. Now, Lee and the DPK should do their best to better serve the people and the nation.
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