President Lee Jae Myung said the biggest challenge in a politician's career is political betrayal, as the factional strife in the ruling Democratic Party of Korea shows no signs of abating.
Lee discussed political obstacles due to potential backstabbing attempts in a post on X on Saturday.
"There is still much to do, and the mountains we must climb are still high, but as always, the hardest thing to face is the arrow coming from behind," Lee wrote.
Lee made similar remarks on the Democratic Party's podcast Friday, when he shared remarks by Democratic Party Rep. Cheon Jun-ho, who recalled going through tough times as an aide to Lee, who was then the party chair.
"Let's wisely overcome whatever obstacles we encounter and faithfully carry out the duties entrusted to us by the sovereign people," Lee wrote.
Democratic Party lawmakers who are in the pro-Lee faction have since echoed Lee's comments.
"It saddens me that we still have to hear the president (talk about betrayal in politics)," Democratic Party Rep. Kim Nam-joon wrote on X on Saturday. "There must be no more slandering of the president with falsehoods. ... I will speak out."
Democratic Party Rep. Kim Dong-ah said the continued criticism of Lee through false claims constitutes "serious anti-party behavior."
The comments came against the backdrop of a growing rift within the party, after two-term Democratic Party Rep. Choi Min-hee was accused of instigating the strife.
Choi is part of a rival faction led by former party chair Rep. Jung Chung-rae.
Choi recently apologized for remarks she made in a leaked conversation from a private meeting in October. In the remarks, she claimed that Lee had opposed the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and that Lee's stance before his election as president in June 2025 was to have Yoon voluntarily step down and cooperate with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Choi, who initially denied claims that she had made the remarks, apologized on Friday after the conversation was leaked.
The presidential office expressed "strong regret" about her remarks and denied her claim that Lee was against impeaching Yoon.
As the party weighs disciplinary action against her, Choi struck back, while apologizing again for her controversial remarks.
"A lapse in my memory and some confusing remarks have caused trouble for the president and distress to our party members and supporters," Choi wrote on Facebook Sunday.
She went on to accuse the pro-Lee faction of instigating the party strife through Rep. Kim Min-seok's claims of the rival faction's alleged collusion with a religious sect to interfere in the August party convention, and for failing to "genuinely" apologize after Kim Min-seok said the party found no proof of such a collusion.
"The controversy surrounding the alleged secret alliance between the Shincheonji Church sect and certain political factions is a separate matter from my own wrongdoing," Choi said, adding the party must handle issues impartially.
All eyes are on whether supreme council members who belong to the rival faction, including Reps. Han Min-soo and Lee Sung-yoon, will again boycott the regular leadership meeting Monday, as they did on Friday. Their boycott was to call for a swift investigation into Kim Min-seok for spreading false rumors about their faction.
Lee, meanwhile, is set to embark on a two-nation trip in the coming week from Monday to Thursday as he attends both the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conferences in Shenzhen, China.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
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