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South Korean politics has many individuals with the surname Lee. This includes Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Lee Jun-seok, a former conservative leader who began his independent career at age 38, and Lee Nak-yon, who is on his way to become the leader of a breakaway faction. The 71-year-old former DPK chairman, a four-term lawmaker, served as prime minister from 2017 to 2020 during the Moon Jae-in administration. As both premier and party leader, Lee demonstrated his competence as an administrator…

After discussing the issues surrounding conservatives, some members of the audience criticized me for not showing support towards Lee Jun-seok, who took a more impartial stance compared to other conservatives. In response, we can recall precisely what Lee was warned for by the ethics committee, including his more significant tendency to solidarity with Ukraine. However, a detailed account of the ex-People Power Party (PPP) chairman’s recent activities is necessary. Indeed, the 37-year-old…

Back in the summer of 2022, factional infighting in the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) had gotten so out of hand that interim party chief Woo Sang-ho suggested getting rid of insults such as the word “watermelon.” In South Korea, this is considered a significant insult, despite its seemingly minor nature. For instance, the term ’banana’ is sometimes used as an insult towards American or overly Westernized South Koreans, implying that they are “yellow on the outside but white on the inside.”…