Lee Jae-myung reelected as leader of main opposition party

Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jae-myung speaks at a Democratic Party convention held at the KSPO Dome in southeastern Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)

Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jae-myung was reelected to lead the country's main opposition party on Sunday, cementing his power within the National Assembly.

Lee, who had served his first term as Democratic Party chair from August 2022 to June this year, won 85.4 percent of the votes from registered party members, confirming his second term as party leader, in a convention at the KSPO Dome in southeastern Seoul in the afternoon. His second term is due to end August 2026.

Lee was widely expected to clinch his second term, as he had won an average 89.9 percent of the combined ballots cast by registered party members in a total 17 rounds of primaries that wrapped-up Saturday.

The reelected party chief won a landslide victory against former Interior Minister Kim Doo-gwan and rookie politician Kim Ji-soo.

Also at the convention, Kim Byung-joo, Kim Min-seok, Jeon Hyun-hee, Han Jun-ho and Lee Un-ju were elected to serve in the party's new five-member Supreme Council.

Lee will replace the Democratic party's acting Chair and Floor Leader Rep. Park Chan-dae, who officially stepped down Sunday. Park is considered part of the party's "pro-Lee" faction.

Lee's victory comes amid legislative gridlock in the country, as the Democratic Party has continued to float multiple contentious bills that were then vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Yoon has so far vetoed 21 bills since his inauguration in May 2022, only the second-most of all South Korean presidents since President Syngman Rhee took office in 1948. The Democratic Party currently holds 170 of the total 300-seat, single-chamber parliament here. That allows them to unilaterally pass bills despite protest from the ruling People Power Party, but is not enough to override a presidential veto.

Lee is currently embroiled in multiple court battles. In June, prosecutors charged Lee with third-party bribery and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act tied to his alleged involvement in unauthorized remittance to North Korea.

Those charges were on top of three ongoing court cases against him at the Seoul Central District Court, respectively regarding development project-related bribery, election law violations and perjury.

Lee was stabbed in the neck by a 67-year-old assailant only identified by his surname Kim when he was visiting a construction site for an airport in Busan in January. Lee suffered a 1.4-centimeter wound and underwent surgery. He was hospitalized and was discharged after eight days.

Though Lee’s first two-year term as party chair was to officially run through August, he stepped down earlier as the Democratic Party’s current charter stipulates that the current leader must resign before the candidate registration period kicks off.

In June, Lee resigned to run for reelection as the current party rule stipulates the party chair must resign from his leadership position to be eligible as a candidate.

The Democratic Party chair is also a strong candidate in the liberal bloc for the next presidential election in 2027, with many observers currently projecting a fierce battle between Lee and current People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon.

By Jung Min-kyung(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)