A nomination massacre is sweeping the DP

The majority Democratic Party (DP) is embroiled in chaos over the nomination of candidates for the April 10 parliamentary election. It all started with the party’s refusal to nominate members not loyal to its controversial leader, Lee Jae-myung. After their botched application for the nomination, the mayors of Goyang and Siheung, Gyeonggi, urged the party to review the decision. But their requests were denied: the Goyang mayor for his “uncooperative attitude toward the DP” and the Siheung mayor for his “disobedience to the party’s decision not to nominate him in the last parliamentary election.”

By contrast, pro-Lee members of the DP are being rescued by a group of fanatical supporters of the party leader. A close aide to Lee had to give up his bid for the candidacy over his involvement in the tortured death of a civilian during the democratization era. An intense conflict erupted between two groups of former democracy fighters after he gave up his candidacy.

Amid the heated internal battle over the nomination, two former prime ministers from the DP — Chung Sye-gyun and Kim Boo-kyum — expressed concerns about alarming developments in the liberal party ahead of the national election. Lee Nak-yon, another former prime minister and former DP leader, is even preparing to launch a new party in protest of the current leader’s tyranny. After the DP members — whose request for a review of the party’s decision not to nominate them was rejected — are poised to join the new party led by the former party leader, the DP may end up splitting into two.

Nevertheless, the current DP leader shows no leadership whatsoever. Lee Jae-myung has been keeping mum due to his own judicial risks without making any efforts to prevent the former leader from establishing a new party. Song Young-gil, another former DP leader, was arrested for handing out cash to party members to help him get elected in 2021, but the DP has not apologized for its dirty past. Lee Jae-myung has never responded to complaints from DP members not loyal to him.

If Lee and his followers are still optimistic about the results of the upcoming election after being buoyed by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s low approval rating, it is a serious miscalculation. The PPP has already embarked on a crusade to reform the enervated party by establishing an emergency committee to win the election. Even the conservative party is considering replacing old-guard politicians with new faces. But the DP shows no signs of reform. If the party refuses to innovate itself after blindly betting on the PPP’s mistakes, it will not be able to maintain its majority in the legislature.