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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Woo Won-shik Declines Leadership Bid, Cites Party Division

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Former National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announced he will not run in the upcoming Democratic Party leadership convention.
  • Woo criticized the internal party conflict, calling for a clear definition of the party's purpose and the convention's goals.
  • He warned that the party faces a bleak future if it doesn't learn from past mistakes and continues to engage in infighting and mockery.

Woo Won-shik, a former Speaker of the National Assembly, has declared he will not seek leadership in the Democratic Party's upcoming convention in August. Woo expressed strong criticism of the escalating internal conflicts within the party, questioning the very purpose of the party and the leadership race itself.

I have no intention of running in this convention. Who is the Democratic Party for? What is this convention for?

— Woo Won-shikIn a Facebook post announcing his decision not to run for party leadership.

"What will be left of our party after holding a convention characterized by ridicule and division?" Woo asked in a Facebook post. He lamented the use of "unspeakable derogatory terms" to attack opponents, calling the situation "embarrassing and shameful." Woo urged those vying for party leadership to confront the party's current reality with courage and honesty.

Unspeakable derogatory terms are being used to attack opponents within the party. It is embarrassing and shameful.

— Woo Won-shikExpressing dismay over the tone of the party's internal competition.

Woo warned that the Democratic Party has no future if it fails to heed the "warning" received from the public in the recent local elections. He pointed to the party's history of defeat when it fractured and turned against itself. "Just one year after experiencing the pain of the previous administration, we should be expanding the path of democratic governance, but instead, we are divided," he stated, referencing internal conflicts that make it difficult to see a clear path forward.

What will be left of our party after holding a convention characterized by ridicule and division?

— Woo Won-shikQuestioning the outcome of the party's leadership race if it continues with infighting.

As a long-time party member who has worked alongside the underprivileged, Woo stated he could no longer bear to watch the party's division and animosity. He reiterated his call for clarity on who the Democratic Party serves and what the convention aims to achieve, emphasizing that only then can the competition for party leadership hold any meaning.

If we do not properly heed the warning given to us by the people in the last local elections, there is no future for the Democratic Party.

— Woo Won-shikWarning about the consequences of ignoring public sentiment.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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