Lee Jae-myung (right), leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, looks serious as he talks to Park Hong-geun, head of the Democratic Alliance for Korea, during a plenary session of the National Assembly on Tuesday. By Park Min-kyu Senior Writer

The "third zone big tent" created by ruling and opposition politicians who left their parties was broken down in 11 days. A rift within the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is getting bigger at a rapid pace with controversies over “closed-door nominations” and “neglecting the non-Lee Jae-myung faction.” Opposition parties are in a situation where they are utterly disrupted into four and five factions. They are betraying the expectations of their supporters for the general election, which should be held responsible for the failure of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

Lee Nak-yon, co-leader of the New Reform Party (NRP), formalized his separation from NRP’s co-leader Lee Jun-seok party, saying he would "return to the New Future Party." The party united on January 9, claiming to overcome bipartisan politics and take responsibility for national affairs, but it collapsed in 11 days after identity disputes and leadership battles. It may be a result of "unquestionable merger" that neglects values, ideologies, and political lines, and failing to escape from political engineering that immersed itself in factions and supporters, such as Leedaenam,” instead of trying to expand its reach.

The DPK is facing widespread backlash from the members of the non-Lee faction as the evaluation list of its lower-ranked active lawmakers was released. Park Yong-jin of the non-Lee faction revealed the fact that he was included in the bottom 10 percent on February 20, saying, "The reason for disclosing this disgrace is because it clearly reveals what serious crisis the DPK is facing and I hope many people will be alert to this.” On the previous day, Kim Young-joo, deputy speaker of the National Assembly, left the main opposition party, saying, "The DPK has become Lee’s private party.”

Lee stepped in to calm down the disruption, saying, “It is pain that occurs in the process of transformation," but the scandal is getting bigger. This is because the party leadership has been pressuring members of the pro-Moon Jae-in faction, such as former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok, to not run for the general election, citing the "Moon Jae In government's responsibility,” but the leadership consisting of the pro-Lee politicians has not made any sacrifices. Another problem is the opaque and outdated methods to influence nominations, such as Lee and his aides discussing the cutoff. Virtually, the party's nomination management committee has become impotent. There is no sense of urgency and responsibility in the nomination process to rein in the runaway Yun Suk-yeol administration. The party is in disarray with rumors that the pro-Moon faction will take collective action and that the New Future Party is seeking contact with DPK lawmakers who received the notification that they were included in the bottom 20 percent on the list. There is no denying that the party leadership itself has caused the turmoil.

Voters are increasingly questioning whether the opposition parties deserve to represent the public who want to judge the current government. Hong Ihk-pyo, the floor leader of the DPK, appealed for support in his speech at the National Assembly, saying, "Democracy has retreated and the economy and people's livelihood are on the verge of collapse after two years of the Yoon Suk-yeol government." However, the main opposition party should create the conditions for the people to come together through nonpartisan integration and innovative nominations. That is the role and responsibility of the main opposition party. If the opposition parties rely only on the government and the ruling party's misrule and fail to join forces, they will be wiped out. Elections in the Seoul metropolitan area are often won or lost by a few thousand votes, and the results of the recent general election were tilted toward the victory of a particular party. The division of the opposition parties and scandals over the nomination for the upcoming general election will be a betrayal of the people who are furious about the misrule of the current regime. The opposition leadership should be aware of the heavy historical responsibility.