Ex-heads of rival parties talk possible union against political establishment

The former leaders of two rival parties spoke over coffee Sunday morning on possibly uniting against establishment politics ahead of the April general election to fill the National Assembly.

Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jun-seok -- who once led the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, respectively -- met at a Starbucks near the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul, for a brief chat on their potential political union. Rep. Kim Jong-min, who quit the Democratic Party last week, was also at the meeting.

Kim told reporters that the three held the coffee meeting to discuss a possible union of the new parties that each of them is preparing to launch.

“There is a consensus that we must find roads out of establishment politics together, and that we could not do that while still being a player in the rigidly bipartisan structure,” he said. “We agreed that the new parties must cooperate and join in solidarity toward the shared goal of challenging the political establishment.”

Kim is working with other ex-Democratic Party lawmakers including Reps. Lee Won-wook and Cho Eung-cheon to form a new party, the pre-launch event for which was held the same day.

Lee Nak-yon, who was the Democratic Party’s chair and the prime minister under the previous President Moon Jae-in, said at the pre-launch event held shortly after the Starbucks meeting that this day will “mark the beginning of a revolutionary change in South Korean politics.”

“I want today to be remembered as the day that South Korean people are no longer prisoners to the two establishment parties and are liberated from being stuck between two choices,” he said.

The former prime minister stepped down as Democratic Party chair in early 2021 to enter the presidential primary, which he lost to the party’s current leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung.

Speaking at the same event, the People Power Party’s ousted former leader Lee Jun-seok said he wanted his coalition with his one-time rivals to be one that “can embrace diverse views and backgrounds.”

He used an analogy of the Korean dish bibimbap or rice bowl to paint his idea of the coalition, saying it should be “a mix of different flavors that go well with one another without allowing one flavor to dominate or cover up other flavors.”

Lee, who was removed from the People Power Party chairpersonship in 2022 following allegations related to a sexual bribery scandal, claimed that the ruling party was a party for those with close ties to President Yoon Suk Yeol.