Did Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung commit to pledges such as an end-of-war declaration, withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea, transition to a lower-level federal system, North Korean-style absorption reunification, dissolution of conglomerates, dismantling of churches, and unconditionally thanking China? No, that's not true: No evidence was found to suggest that Lee made such pledges on the official Democratic Party platform.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on April 16, 2024. The text in the video read in English (as translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff):
Lee Jae Myung's pledges:
End-of-war declaration
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea
Transition to a lower-level federal system
North Korean-style absorption reunification
Dissolution of conglomerates
Dismantling of churches
Unconditionally thanking China
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Apr 22 14:48:40 2024 UTC)
Although talks about peace on the Korean peninsula have occurred, there was no evidence to suggest that Lee officially wanted to issue a declaration to end the Korean War, as such a step would involve complex diplomacy. In a live broadcast (archived here) of Lee meeting with the delegation of peace action on the Korean Peninsula for the 70th anniversary of the armistice on July 4, 2023 (archived here), Lee did not specifically mention an end-of-war declaration, but said (as translated):
Recently, there has been a lot of controversy over the armistice and the end of the war... it is important to develop the power to win, but there is something more important than this. We win without fighting, and what is more important than that is the state where there would be no need to fight... it's about creating peace.
Contrary to the video's claim of Lee pledging to withdraw the U.S. troops from South Korea, in a press release (archived here) from the Democratic Party posted on November 11, 2022, Lee emphasized the importance of a strong alliance between the U.S. and South Korea. He mentioned that there is no need for nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula as long as the extended deterrence of the ROK-U.S. alliance continues. Lee stated, as translated:
I believe that Korea and the United States will need to continue to cooperate closely for the peaceful denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula. Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the ROK-US alliance. Over the past 70 years, the ROK-US alliance has played a key role in the prosperity of the Republic of Korea and the peace regime in Northeast Asia. Based on the achievements made so far, we need to expand and advance the breadth and depth of our bilateral alliance.
No evidence was found on the official Democratic Party platform (archived here) explicitly pledging, on behalf of Lee, to transition to a lower-level federal system. South Korea historically has a strong central government, with legislative, executive, and judicial branches, in addition to specialized independent institutions, according to the Korean Cultural Center (archived here).
Concerning the video's claim of Lee's pledge to a "North Korean-style absorption reunification," Lee supports a peaceful process instead of drastic measures. Furthermore, Lee's stance on reunification has not changed since his run as a presidential candidate against Yoon in 2022 (archived here). In the official Democratic Party of Korea's policy pledge book for the 2024 general election (archived here and here), the pledges about North Korea are listed (as translated) as follows:
Stop creating military tensions and create an atmosphere of peace through the cessation of hostilities and the creation of trust.
Call for inter-Korean dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.
Restoring the inter-Korean communication channel.
Building inter-Korean trust through humanitarian cooperation, such as joint health care and family reunions.
Providing humanitarian assistance to those vulnerable in North Korea.
Promoting reunions of separated families (such as visiting their hometowns)
Promoting North Koreans' human rights through humanitarian aid and development cooperation with the international community.
Lee also never explicitly stated the dissolution of conglomerates in South Korea. Still, he has strongly criticized (archived here) President Yoon's government for excessively deregulating the conglomerates and advocated for a framework that would hold them more accountable. Additionally, when Lee was running against Yoon for president, Lee had clarified (archived here) that he was referring to "dismantling the chaebol (conglomerate) system," which would include "internal transactions, unfair inheritance, and abuse of control."
There is no evidence to suggest that Lee had pledged to dismantle churches, as no results suggesting that were found on the official Democratic Party website (archived here), and Lee has attended church service (archived here) himself.
Lead Stories has already fact-checked the claim of Lee's alleged one-sided pro-China policy. The only mention of China in the 2024 Democratic Party Pledge (archived here) concerns fine dust particles (on page 123 of the pdf).
