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As conservatives squabble, Lee Jae-myung says 'doing nothing' can win him the presidency

Published: 10 May. 2025, 16:26

SEO JI-EUN
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Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, shakes hands with a resident while campaigning in Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang, on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Saturday took a swipe at the People Power Party (PPP) and its unprecedented candidate shake-up, describing the situation as a self-inflicted collapse and emphasizing that sometimes, “doing nothing” is enough to win.

“In politics, when people start chasing gains too eagerly, they’re bound to trip and fall," Lee told residents at a traditional market in Changneyong County, South Gyeongsang, citing his favorite saying of former President Kim Young-sam. "That’s how I feel looking at a certain group right now."

Referring to the PPP’s internal chaos, Lee added, "I didn’t do anything at all.”

Lee also revealed that he'd recently spoken on the phone with former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, a native of Changnyeong. Hong was eliminated in the second round of the PPP's presidential primary,

“I don’t usually talk about other people’s internal affairs, but I imagine [Hong] must be speechless watching what’s happening in the PPP," he said. "Frankly, I think he has every right to say, ‘Give me my money back.’”

It had been a busy Saturday for Lee. Earlier, he'd officially registered his candidacy for the 21st presidential election on June 3 with the National Election Commission. The same day, he also posted a detailed policy statement to Facebook outlining plans to expand Korea’s aerospace and defense industries.

“Aerospace, aviation and defense are representative advanced industries with high added value and strong job creation potential,” Lee wrote in the Facebook post.

He pledged to transform the national aerospace industrial complex in South Gyeongsang into a global hub, expanding research and development (R&D) across areas such as launch vehicles, satellites and ground systems.

“We will significantly scale up R&D to reach world-class technological standards,” he said.

He added that his administration would pursue the development of a successor to the KF-21 fighter jet and a domestically developed aircraft engine to realize “autonomous national defense.” He also offered tax credits to defense export firms and expanded small- and medium-sized enterprises in the sector.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]