Former prime minister Lee Nak-yon leaves the DPK to make a new party

Lee Nak-yeon, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), officially announced that he would leave the party and create a new one of his own on January 11.

Quoting Confucius' "Humeokbulgaejo,” a phrase meaning rotten wood cannot be carved, from the Analects of Confucius, Lee said, "I want to engage in new politics with the determination to establish a new country.”

The division of the DPK began in earnest ahead of the general election as three members from a non-Lee Jae-myung faction called "Principles and Common Sense" left the party the previous day. After creating a new party in collaboration with the Principles and Common Sense, Lee Nak-yeon is expected to integrate his new party with the New Reform Party created by Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the ruling People’s Power Party.

"The DPK has become a 'one-man party' and a 'bulletproof party' where the spirit, values, and dignity of former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun have disappeared, and violent and low-class speech and conduct are rampant," Lee said at a press conference at the National Assembly. "For two years, critics in the party and my supporters have been insulted and attacked as targets for execution across the country," Lee explained the background of his defection. His remarks were aimed at DPK leader Lee Jae-myung and his hardline supporters.

He also said, "It was a serious mistake made by me as leader of the party to nominate candidates for the 2021 by-election of Seoul and Busan mayors by changing the party constitution. I am also ashamed that I agreed to the party leadership's decision to allow satellite parties while working as a co-chairman of the election committee in 2020.”

"What drove me to this point was first and foremost the crisis in Korea. I thought that I should not turn a blind eye to this national crisis," Lee said. "Korea is mired in a quagmire of 'prosecutorial dictatorship' and 'bulletproofing. The ruling and opposition parties are destroying the country with such a hostile symbiotic relationship," criticizing both President Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung.

"We must end the two-party system of hatred and disgust and start a multi-party system of compromise and coordination,” He added. “I will not run in the upcoming general election," he said on a CBS radio show.

In a joint statement, 129 DPK lawmakers criticized that "the division of the DPK only helps the Yoon Suk-yeol administration."

As for his future plans, Lee said, "First of all, I will cooperate with my comrades in the 'Principles and Common Sense.'" The non-Lee Jae-myung faction will announce plans to launch a new party on January 12, with former Justice Party lawmaker Park Won-seok and former Hannara Party lawmaker Chung Tae-geun. "I am willing to cooperate with anyone who shares the same view and thought with me," Lee said, indicating his intention to create a unified party by integrating his own party with Lee Jun-seok’s new party.