On the afternoon of the 26th, four liberty-rightist parties that represent orthodox conservatism held a press conference at the Seoul Club Hall, located on the 18th floor of the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, and declared a pan-national coalition to push for the resignation of the Lee Jae-myung dictatorial regime. From left: Lawyer Ko Young-ju of the Liberty Democratic Party, Representative Hwang Kyo-ahn of Liberty and Innovation, and Representative Cho Won-jin of the Our Republican Party. Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, Standing Advisor of the Liberty Unification Party, who is currently incarcerated, has agreed to join the movement. ⓒHanmi Ilbo

Joint Press Conference by the Representatives of the Four Parties: Liberty and Innovation, Liberty Unification, Liberty Democratic, and Our Republican

Initiating a ‘Full-Scale Struggle’ for the Resignation of the Lee Jae-myung Dictatorial Regime and the Resumption of the Election Law Trial

“The ‘Separation of Powers’ safety mechanism, protected by the blood of countless patriots, has been dismantled”

“Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon has pledged to be in full accord with all efforts… A patriotic agreement has been reached”

“The halting of Lee’s trial, despite the Supreme Court’s guilty verdict, is due to power, not law or procedure”

“This battle is a ‘Holy War’ to defend the nation… We will fight while setting aside partisan interests”

Amid growing criticism that the misconduct of the Lee Jae-myung regime—now deeply entrenched in the omnipotence of power—is intensifying daily, four liberty-rightist parties representing orthodox conservatism have launched an expanded anti-Lee Jae-myung coalition front to demand his resignation and the immediate resumption of his Public Official Election Act trial. This development is drawing significant interest from the orthodox conservative community, as it is seen as a potential “watershed” moment in achieving the common goal of the patriotic citizenry to topple the Lee Jae-myung administration.

The four party representatives—Hwang Kyo-ahn (Liberty and Innovation), Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon (Liberty Unification Party), Ko Young-ju (Liberty Democratic Party), and Cho Won-jin (Our Republican Party)—have resolved to form a four-party liberty-rightist coalition as part of a strategy to rally anti-Lee government and anti-Democratic Party factions. They have committed to moving beyond mere rhetoric and launching a practical, all-out struggle.

The three representatives who appeared at the Seoul Club Hall (formerly the Foreign Correspondents' Club) at 3:00 PM on the 26th, having confirmed the support of Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon who is currently in detention, stated, “The liberty-rightist citizens will firmly unite to protect liberal democracy and fight to the end against all forces that threaten it. By doing so, we will become the catalyst for a pan-opposition integration struggle.” They expressed strong aspirations to serve as a reliable pillar in overthrowing the Lee Jae-myung dictatorship.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty and Innovation Party, explained the background of the coalition, stating, “A special, nation-saving decision is now necessary to protect the country. We, the four liberty-rightist parties, stand here to set right a Republic of Korea that is on the edge of a cliff, to defend our crumbling liberal democracy, and to block the Lee Jae-myung regime’s reckless, constitution-trampling tyranny.”

Addressing the absence of the incarcerated pastor, Hwang stated, “Although there are four parties in this coalition, only three of us are standing here today. One of our members is currently detained by the tyrannical regime, but he is fully aligned with our cause.” He added, “(Pastor Jeon) gave a clear promise that he is in total agreement with everything we have discussed. I visited him in detention a few days ago, and we reached an agreement and finalized the details. We have finalized a patriotic document of agreement.”

He further diagnosed the current national situation, saying, “The Republic of Korea is at a critical crossroads and in the middle of a systemic war. We are at a juncture where we must decide whether the Republic of Korea will remain a liberal democratic country based on the Constitution or be overtaken as a communist country that ignores it.”

“We say this clearly: The Lee Jae-myung regime is no longer a liberal democratic government but a dictatorial one,” he declared. “The legislative branch, controlled by Lee, is crushing the Constitution with the power of numbers, the executive branch is abusing power as a tool for political retaliation, and now, blatant attempts are being made to seize the judiciary as well.”

He elaborated, “They are trying to change the composition of the Supreme Court to suit their tastes and manipulating rulings. They are creating ways to overturn court decisions through ‘trial appeals’ if they find them unfavorable. The separation of powers is not a system to be modified just because it feels inconvenient. It is a constitutional safety device designed to prevent those in power from oppressing the people. It is the final bastion of constitutional protection, guarded by the blood of countless patriots, yet the Lee Jae-myung regime is removing these safety devices one by one. This is exactly what dictatorship is. We must block this dictatorship.”

Consequently, the four liberty-rightist parties agreed first to join forces in the anti-dictatorship struggle.

“We are launching a decisive struggle to topple the Lee Jae-myung dictatorship and defend a free Republic of Korea. We will never tolerate the Lee Jae-myung regime, which ignores the law and reigns above it,” Hwang asserted. “This fight will not end with mere criticism of the regime; it will be a major battle that changes the world. It is a desperate struggle to protect our system. We must carry out this systemic war to decide whether we will uphold constitutional order or succumb to the forces of constitutional destruction.” He urged for support and solidarity.

Lawyer Ko Young-ju, representing the Liberty Democratic Party, pointed out, “The Lee Jae-myung regime’s most blatant display of dictatorship is the issue of Lee’s own trial. The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, remanded Lee’s Public Official Election Act violation case with a guilty verdict and ordered a retrial. Executing this is the requirement of the Republic of Korea’s judicial system and legal principles.”

“That trial is currently stalled, not because of laws or procedures, but because of power—because of Lee Jae-myung’s tyrannical abuse of power,” Ko lamented. “Can we call it a nation governed by the rule of law if a criminal’s trial stops just because he becomes president, or if one can evade legal judgment once they seize power?”

He fiercely denounced the current government, adding, “Article 11 of the Constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law, and the president is also a citizen. However, the Lee Jae-myung regime has effectively neutralized the Supreme Court’s remand ruling and turned the trial into a political byproduct. This is not just a delay in the trial; it is a direct challenge to judicial independence and a clear destruction of the rule of law.”

He read the second agreement of the four parties: “We demand clearly: immediately resume the remand trial for Lee Jae-myung’s Public Official Election Act case. Power cannot reign above the law.”

Cho Won-jin, Representative of the Our Republican Party, declared, “The four liberty-rightist parties make this clear today: First, we will unite as a single front in the struggle to topple the Lee Jae-myung dictatorship. Second, we will fight until the end until the resumption of the remand trial for Lee Jae-myung’s Public Official Election Act violation is achieved. Third, we will stand together until our righteous struggle finally succeeds.”

He also issued a strong demand to the Seoul High Court: “Do not be swayed by power; establish justice. Do not look left or right; restore the rule of law.”

Representative Cho pledged, “Our fight will certainly not be easy, but today, our four liberty-rightist parties declare that we will combine our strengths and walk this path of struggle to the end with all our might. We will set aside all vested interests and partisan concerns to walk together on the path of struggle to defend the Constitution, the rule of law, and liberal democracy in the Republic of Korea.”

Furthermore, he defined the movement, stating, “This is not a fight between politicians, but a ‘Holy War’ to protect the nation. Now is not the time to change the administration; it is the time to drag the administration down.” Before proceeding to Q&A, Cho repeatedly emphasized, “Even if the process is difficult and there is tremendous sabotage, we will never submit to injustice, leftist dictatorship, or socialist-communist dictatorial forces.”

The representatives of the four parties also expressed their views on the need to purge “fifth columnists” (Enchupados) and strengthen the clarity of their struggle.

“We must cut off the ‘Enchupados’—the spies among us,” Hwang said. “The four-party coalition is precious because it consists only of orthodox conservative parties.” He indirectly struck at the current reality of the People Power Party (PPP), which he believes fails to see the broad public sentiment, and tightened the reins on the anti-government struggle, declaring they would not stop until the Lee Jae-myung regime is toppled.

Cho also alluded to factions within the PPP that participated in the impeachment of two presidents from their own side, emphasizing, “The internal betrayers, those who collude with leftists, and the collaborators of the Lee Jae-myung and Moon Jae-in regimes must be cleared out at this opportunity.” He added earlier, “Seeing these fake, superficial conservative political forces that impeached two presidents, I am grateful to the party representatives who have joined us, as it is clear what path the four liberty-rightist parties must take.”

Lawyer Ko took a sharp stance toward the government and the ruling party. “The Lee Jae-myung government and the Democratic Party are neither a liberal democratic government nor a liberal democratic party,” he stated. “If they are not, they must be overthrown. Are we all in agreement on that?” he asked, eliciting support and pledging to focus entirely on the struggle.

Meanwhile, Representative Cho Won-jin mentioned that the four parties have agreed not to form an ‘election coalition’ to oppose the People Power Party in the upcoming June local elections. “The Jang Dong-hyuk leadership has already declared the systemic war mentioned in our four-party coalition statement, and in that sense, we are on the same page,” Cho explained. “We will request the Jang Dong-hyuk leadership of the PPP to fight this systemic war and clear out the leftist collaborators. We will exert our efforts from the outside to ensure the PPP does not collapse due to these leftist collaborationist forces. We will ask them to confidently pursue actions for the defense of the liberal democratic system and to join in the people’s massive struggle.”

Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, Standing Advisor of the Liberty Unification Party (Senior Pastor of Sarang Jeil Church), answering questions from reporters as he attended the warrant validity review (pre-arrest interrogation) held at the Seoul Western District Court last month. [Yonhap News]