Lee Seok-yeon: "Severe State Affairs Chaos and Division; President Lee Should Leave Democratic Party"

Lee Seok-yeon, Chairperson of the presidential National Integration Committee, publicly proposed today (August 19) that President Lee Jae-myung leave the Democratic Party, urging him to foster national unity.

Appearing on MBC's "100-Minute Debate" the previous day, Chairperson Lee made the remarks, saying, "Now that the Democratic Party's national convention has concluded, you should leave the party."

Explaining the reasoning, he stated, "The ruling party is competing over who is closer to the president, while the opposition party is taking a sharply opposing stance against the president and the government. I am concerned that politics centered around the president is dividing people into sides right now."

He went on to emphasize, "The president has stated on every occasion that he will be a 'president for all,' but he must bear the heaviest responsibility for the current chaos in state affairs and the extreme division of public opinion."

He argued, "While the Constitution does not demand that a president leave their party, if you set national integration as the top priority of state administration and truly want to become a 'president for all,' I hope you will now step outside the political fence of being the president of a single party."

He raised his voice, saying, "Leave the Democratic Party to the new leadership, and return as a president for the people, not just the president of the Democratic Party. You must manage state affairs from a bipartisan standpoint. Now is the right time."

In addition, he stressed, "Reach out to the opposition party, meet with the opposition leader, and listen first to the people who criticize the president the harshest. Integration begins when the person with the greatest power and authority lays things down first. The president must do that first."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.