"President Should Leave Democratic Party" Controversy: Lee Seok-Yeon Resigns After One Year

Presidential Office Signals No Intention to Renew Term... Term Ends on the 9th
Repeated Public Criticisms Over Justice Distortion Law and Supplementary Investigation Authority

Lee Suk-Yeon, chairman of the Presidential National Integration Committee, who has openly called on President Lee Jaemyung to leave the Democratic Party and has repeatedly clashed with the government and ruling party, will step down after just one year in office. Although Chairman Lee's term is scheduled to end on September 9, it is reported that after recently checking through the presidential office whether President Lee would reappoint him, he was informed that there would be no extension of his term. Lee was initially selected as the symbol of a "figure of integration" spanning even the conservative camp at the launch of the Lee Jaemyung administration, but continued public criticism of major state affairs appears to have led to his non-renewal.

On the 21st, Lee Suk-Yeon, chairman of the National Integration Committee, delivered the opening remarks at the 2026 Generation Field-Type National Dialogue Gyeongsang Region Forum held at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center in Dong-gu, Busan. 2026.7.21 Yonhap News

On September 3, Lee wrote on his Facebook page, "I will step down as chairman of the Presidential National Integration Committee as of September 9, 2026." Lee cited philosophical differences with the government as the background for his resignation. He said, "I've realized that the government's views and philosophy regarding national integration are quite different from mine," adding, "I took public office again not to be loyal to a specific administration, but to be loyal to the Constitution. In this situation, I now intend to step aside in accordance with the president's wishes."

Regarding President Lee, he further added, "I hope that some of the frank advice I gave over the years, sometimes even at the risk of breaching etiquette, will be at least partially reflected in the management of state affairs," and apologized, saying, "I am deeply sorry to be stepping down without having fully conveyed my intentions." It appears that the presidential office's decision not to reappoint Lee played a decisive role in his departure. Lee said that he recently asked President Lee about the possibility of renewing his term through Hong Ihk-Pyo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, and on September 2, he was informed via Chun Seong-Hwan, Senior Secretary for Listening and Integration, that the president did not intend to reappoint him.

Chairman Lee was appointed as the first chairman of the National Integration Committee under President Lee Jaemyung's administration in September last year. Although he is a conservative-leaning legal professional who served as Minister of Legislation under the Lee Myung-bak administration, he served as a joint head of election strategy for Lee Jaemyung during last year's presidential election, and after the launch of the government, he also headed the presidential special delegation to Germany. At the time, the presidential office announced his appointment by stating, "In line with the president's intention to embrace all citizens, he will play a role in uniting the people and healing social divisions."

However, since taking office, he has repeatedly clashed with the government and ruling party, publicly expressing opposition to major policies and appointments. In January, he criticized the nomination of Lee Hyehoon as Minister of Planning and Budget as a "wrong appointment," demanding her voluntary withdrawal. He called the Democratic Party's proposed "law distortion offense (beom)" a "disgrace for a civilized nation," and also insisted on withdrawing the second comprehensive special prosecutor bill. In July, he publicly objected to the ruling party's plan to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigative authority, declaring it "unconstitutional."

Tensions with the ruling party surfaced last month when Lee publicly demanded President Lee's withdrawal from the Democratic Party. During an appearance on MBC's "100-Minute Debate" on August 18, he stated, "The Democratic Party should entrust its future to new leadership, and the president should return as the 'president of the people,' not just the 'president of the Democratic Party.' Now that the party convention is over, it's time for the president to leave the Democratic Party."

The Democratic Party immediately pushed back. Party leader Kim Minseok dismissed Lee's suggestion as "grounded in ignorance or a misunderstanding of the Constitution," further arguing, "It is a logic that the party cannot accept, nor is it historically correct." In response, Lee retorted that Kim was misunderstanding the Constitution, escalating the dispute into a public exchange of criticism.

Following the recent resignation of former Vice Chairman Lee Byung-Tae of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee, some are saying that the "integration appointments" announced at the launch of the Lee Jaemyung administration are now being tested. According to a source within the ruling bloc, "President Lee appointed him as the head of a presidential office-affiliated organization to utilize talent beyond political camps, but as their views about the direction of national administration diverged ever further, the decision was reached that they could no longer continue together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.