Opposition Calls Lee's First Year "Time of Destruction"

GOYANG — The People Power Party tightened its offensive against the government ahead of the regular National Assembly session, describing the first year of President Lee Jae-myung's administration as "a time of destruction and dismantlement." Former President Park Geun-hye, who made a rare appearance at the party workshop, called for internal cohesion, saying, "When fighting an external enemy, there is no enemy more fearsome than division within our own ranks."

According to political sources on the 28th, the People Power Party held its workshop on the 27th at a hotel in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, under the theme "The People Power Party, Standing on Today and Opening Tomorrow." While some lawmakers critical of party leader Chang Dong-hyuk had been expected to stay away, most lawmakers attended, including those aligned with former leader Han Dong-hoon and members of the group Alternatives and the Future.

Chang said he would use the upcoming regular session as a stage for intensive scrutiny of the Lee administration's governance. "All of our party's lawmakers must fight with one mind, looking only to the people," Chang said. "The Lee Jae-myung government has only just passed its first year, but the pace of South Korea's collapse is accelerating." He added, "In this regular session, we must clearly represent the people's concerns and anger," saying the party must block the ruling party's push for a special counsel aimed at canceling trials and a constitutional amendment allowing consecutive presidential terms.

Floor leader Chung Point-sik of the People Power Party also reinforced the attack on the government. "The past year of the Lee Jae-myung government has been a time of destruction and dismantlement," he said. "No matter how much perfume you spray, you cannot hide the smell of rot." He urged the party to "thoroughly examine the reality of the Lee Jae-myung government during the regular session."

Park also attended the workshop, where she stressed harmony and solidarity within the party. While sitting presidents have visited ruling party workshops in the past, this was the first time a former president has attended. With internal strife continuing over calls for Chang to resign and disciplinary disputes within the party, the appearance was read as a message that internal divisions must be settled before a full-scale offensive against the government.

"I hope this workshop deepens our sense of camaraderie," Park said. "The more difficult the times, the more we must move forward in unity, centered on the leadership." She added, "If the nest that is the party is shaken and breaks, the future breaks with it," and, "A party cannot survive without trust within it."

The Democratic Party of Korea criticized Park's attendance at the workshop. "It is truly a bizarre regression to the past," Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do said.

Different views also emerged within the People Power Party over Park's attendance. One senior lawmaker said, "At a time when change and reform are needed more than unity, there is no meaning in the former president coming," adding, "Would the public understand bringing in an impeached former president in the name of unity?"