Lee Eon-ju blasts party over committee chair snub: 'Is this political revenge?'

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju on Thursday criticized her party after being passed over for a standing committee chairmanship in the second half of the National Assembly session. "Is this political revenge?" she wrote. "I got the feeling they finished dividing up the committee chairs among themselves and quietly left me out — someone who has never once chaired a committee."

Lee posted the remarks on Facebook that morning, describing her background as an investment lawyer and industry professional. She said she had served as chair of the Economic Growth Committee directly under the presidential candidate during the presidential election and has continued to serve as senior vice chair of the party's AI powerhouse committee.

"That is why I applied for the Industry and Trade Committee chair and the Science and Technology Committee chair — the so-called economic and industrial posts — and I understood I would get at least one of them," she said. "The floor leadership said they would consult me, but no proper consultation ever took place, and I was left off the final list. They did not even answer my calls."

She said she asked what criteria had been used but received no answer. "What kind of irrational organization exists like this in this day and age?" she said. "I can do without the chairmanship, but a public party should at least share a sense of public accountability when dividing things up."

Lee shared a post from the satirical outlet Ddanjiilbo that mocked her, and recalled her previous departure from the party. "It was the same back then," she said. "The activist crowd would huddle together, and if you asked for rational, common-sense standards, you were treated like a strange person. At the worst, I received up to 30,000 text messages in a barrage."

"While we were suffering, I was shocked to hear former President Moon Jae-in casually dismiss those text bombs as mere 'seasoning,'" she said. "Then and now, I think it is a serious problem if people witness this kind of bullying atmosphere and demonization and still talk about progressive values, democracy and reform. What exactly do they think is progressive?"

Lee said she would not leave the party again. "Go ahead and expel me if you want. I will not walk out on my own," she said. "When I came back, I came back with resolve — determined to change this party."

She added that she still sees herself as a leading contender representing the moderate conservative wing under the new Lee Jae Myung leadership. "From my head-shaving protest during the Cho Kuk affair to now, I have consistently called for crossing the river of hypocrisy that Cho Kuk symbolizes," she said. "I take great comfort in knowing there are many clear-eyed party members who now say I was right and stand with me."