Lee Eon-ju, the senior supreme council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stepped down from her leadership post Monday, saying she felt a "heavy sense of responsibility" for the outcome of the June 3 local elections.
In a Facebook post that day, Lee said she was "deeply sorry for not having fulfilled my role" and announced she would return to the rank and file as an ordinary lawmaker.
"The warning from the public revealed in these local elections cannot be taken lightly," she wrote, adding that despite the party's gains nationwide, it had failed to win sufficient public support in key battlegrounds including Seoul and the greater metropolitan area.
She also said the party had relied too heavily on the president's approval ratings and had not done enough to offer strategies and a vision tailored to local sentiment in each region. "We should have gone into people's lives, listened to voices on the ground, and presented alternatives suited to the characteristics of each area," she said.
Lee said the drift of centrist voters and those in their 20s and 30s, along with the shift in public sentiment observed in key parts of the greater Seoul area, were matters that needed to be taken seriously — not only by the party but also in terms of government policy. "Beyond the outcome of the election, I will humbly accept the warnings and criticism the public has sent," she added.
She pledged to continue working in a supporting role despite giving up her party post. "Although I am stepping down from my party position, I will do everything I can, in a spirit of selfless service, for the success of the Lee Jae-myung government, the renewal of the Democratic Party, and the future of South Korea," she said, vowing to help the party rebuild public trust.
bigroot@heraldcorp.com
