South Korea's main opposition party supremo Lee Jae-myung resigns, eyes for second term as DP chairman

South Korea’s Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung resigned as the chairman of the country’s main opposition party on Monday. According to the South Korean news outlet, Yonhap, the South Korean politician resigned from his post to take preparatory steps and seek another term as the party supremo.

The opposition party will be choosing its new leader at the DP national convention which is scheduled to take place in August. “I have resigned from my position as the leader of the Democratic Party as the party’s supreme council meeting just ended,” Lee told reporters at the National Assembly.

“If I hadn’t decided to run (for another term), I probably wouldn’t have resigned today,” he added, hinting at the possibility of running for reelection.

Who is Lee Jae-myung?

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Currently serving as a member of the South Korean National Assembly, Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidential elections. He served as the 35th Governor of Gyeonggi Province from 2018 to 2022.

Lee started off his career as a factory worker, however, a workplace injury left him “unfit” for the job. After getting a law degree in 1986, he became a prominent human rights and labour rights lawyer in the country.

The South Korean opposition leader eventually entered politics in 2005 and unsuccessfully contested a few elections before he became the Mayor of Seongnam in 2010. On 2 January 2024, the Democratic Party leader was stabbed while visiting the construction site of an airport in Gadeokdo, Busan.

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He was immediately hospitalised at Pusan National University and survived the brutal assassination attempt. The suspect was arrested at the scene and during the police interrogation he admitted that he wanted to assassinate the South Korean leader.

The DP is planning to hold the party’s national convention on August 18, this year. As per the party rules a party chair must resign from his leadership position to be eligible as a candidate to assume the leadership position again.

After Lee’s resignation, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae will serve as the party’s acting leader until the convention, Yonhap reported.