Former Justice Party chief Sim Sang-jeung retires from politics

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, former head of the minor Justice Party, announced her retirement from politics on Thursday, a day after her party failed to win a single parliamentary seat in the April 10 general election.

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung sheds tears while announcing her retirement during a press conference held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, former head of the minor Justice Party, announced her retirement from politics on Thursday, a day after her party failed to win a single parliamentary seat in the April 10 general election.

Sim was vying for a fifth parliamentary term in Gyeonggi's Goyang-A constituency but lost the seat to Kim Sung-hoi of the Democratic Party (DP). Kim secured 45.30 percent of the district’s 154,997 votes and Sim secured 28,293 votes, or 18.41 percent.

Sim said that she will “let go of [her] undertaking in progressive politics” that she has been “sacredly upholding for the last 25 years” during a press conference held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday.

She added that the current term which runs until May 29 would be her final service.

“I failed to earn voters' trust in the Goyang-A constituency,” Sim said. “The Justice Party was trounced and I feel a heavy responsibility as a person who has been standing at the center of the party for a long time.”

The Justice Party failed to secure a seat for both regional constituencies and proportional representations in the April 10 general election.

“The party lost political control internally and externally,” a former Justice Party’s lawmaker's aide told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Before Wednesday’s election, young politicians left the party to join Lee Jun-seok’s Reform Party and Lee Nak-yon’s Saemirae Party.

The Justice Party attempted to walk away from the DP’s shadow by creating its own path. Despite its past of joining forces with the DP in 2019 and 2020, the Justice Party approved the motion to arrest DP leader Lee Jae-myung in September 2023.

People in the leadership positions of the Justice Party watch the exit poll results on Wednesday at the National Assembly. [YONHAP]

During Thursday's press conference, Sim said every day and decision made while in the Justice Party was “never easy.” She thanked her supporters and party members for their “dedication and passion” that led to her current standing.

Sim said she dedicated her life to building a “just welfare state” rather than “seizing political power.” She explained that she entered politics with a dream to bring it closer to people's lives.

“In extremely factionalized politics, my decisions to preserve the values and missions [of progressive politics] faced challenges numerous times and were perceived as reckless persistence,” Sim said the same day.

She added that she believes that Korean society “advanced a little” and "rights of citizens and minorities were improved" because she never gave up her dream.

She emphasized that what the Justice Party loved truly was not an "ideology," but the idea of “an ordinary life for average citizens who live harmoniously with their neighbors.”

“I shall leave politics and carry all the responsibilities and inadequacies of the Justice Party [with me],” Sim said.

She concluded by asking people to welcome and support the Justice Party’s policies which will be driven by its new and young leaders.

BY KIM JEONG-JAE, CHOI SEO-IN, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]