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DP leader to meet ex-leader Lee Nak-yon Saturday amid call for resignation

By Yonhap

Published : Dec. 29, 2023 - 19:59

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Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (Yonhap) Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (Yonhap)

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Friday he will have a breakfast meeting with former DP leader Lee Nak-yon this weekend amid the latter's call for his resignation.

The former party leader has demanded Lee Jae-myung step down and agree to form a joint interim leadership committee ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April.

If Lee declines the proposal by the end of the year, the former leader has said he will set out to launch a new party at the start of next year.

"I was able to get in touch with former leader Lee a short while ago, and it looks like we will meet tomorrow morning," the DP leader told reporters. "We must do everything not to disappoint the people based on a principle of unity, so I had thought about paying him a visit at his home."

The breakfast meeting will reportedly take place in private at a restaurant in central Seoul.

When asked if he has prepared a detailed response to the former leader's call for his resignation and formation of a joint leadership committee, Lee said: "We will have to talk. It's possible we have different positions."

Former leader Lee Nak-yon had expressed his openness to meeting the opposition leader earlier in the day.

Speaking to reporters outside his office, Lee Nak-yon said he discovered a missed call from the DP leader while he was giving an interview and called back, but this time the DP leader was unable to answer.

"If Chairman Lee comes to see me, I will definitely meet him. There's no reason to hide," he said. (Yonhap)