As Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, entered his 15th day of fasting, Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, who had consistently called it a “bulletproof fast” and followed a “strategy of ignoring,” requested for the first time in the ruling party to suspend메이저사이트 the fast. Both the ruling and opposition parties are concerned about Representative Lee’s health worsening, but their intentions are greatly different.
At the Supreme Council meeting on the 14th, Representative Kim said, “It is said that Representative Lee’s health is deteriorating,” and “Regardless of the reason, we respectfully request that you stop fasting, which is harmful to your health.” He continued, “It is not desirable for the representative of a major opposition party to continue fasting during the regular National Assembly, where he must inspect the management of state affairs and take care of the country’s finances for next year.”
The People Power Party’s request to suspend the fast, which had been criticized as a ‘fasting without justification’, appears to have taken into account concerns that Lee’s deteriorating health could act as a political backlash amid criticism that the leader of the main opposition party is not recognized as a partner. The fact that the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for CEO Lee is imminent may also have had an impact.
In particular, Kang Min-guk, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, drew a line, saying, “There are no plans for Representative Kim to visit Representative Lee yet.” Representative Kim has been worried as Representative Lee’s fasting has been prolonged, and they discussed whether or not to visit him on this day, but decided to only put out the message of ‘stopping the fasting’. An official from the People Power Party emphasized, “There is no change in the judgment that we are calling for a halt to protect political morals, but to resolve Representative Lee’s judicial risk.”
In a situation where the government and the ruling party showed no intention to accept President Yoon Seok-yeol’s apology proposed by Representative Lee, the Democratic Party first urged Representative Kim to engage in direct dialogue. Rep. Woo Won-sik said in a broadcast, “We need to come up with an excuse for our exit, and the ruling party leader should come and start the conversation first.”
On this day, Democratic Party lawmakers, led by floor leader Park Gwang-on, visited Representative Lee and asked him to stop the fast, but Representative Lee did not respond. Former President Moon Jae-in also conveyed his concerns the day before through former Blue House Chief of Staff Noh Young-min.
Some say that the best exit strategy is for former President Moon to visit Representative Lee in person. Former Director of the National Intelligence Service Park Jie-won emphasized the day before, “If former President Moon directly dissuades him, Representative Lee will be able to accept it.” However, a senior Democratic Party lawmaker said, “From Representative Lee’s perspective, if former President Moon stops the fast because he is trying to stop him, it will be as if he fasted to unite with the pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) and anti-Moon (non-Lee Jae-myung) circles.” He said, “If I come and CEO Lee doesn’t accept it, I will be embarrassed and won’t be able to come easily.” As it is not easy to come up with an exit strategy, some are speculating that CEO Lee may be ending his fast by collapsing.