- Formalizes resignation at a National Assembly press conference on the 26th… Supreme Council members and Policy Committee Chairman also step down simultaneously
- Fallout from crushing defeat in the June 3 local elections and the fabricated terror controversy involving Jeong Yi-han leads to loss of momentum for internal reform
- Leader Lee states, "The full responsibility for failing to persuade others lies with me… Will focus on my role as a lawmaker for Dongtan"
- Transitions to an acting leadership system under Chun Ha-ram… Initiates preparations for the next party convention
Reform Party Leader Lee Jun-seok has stepped down from his position and declared a return to the ranks as a plain member. All members of the party leadership, including the Supreme Council, are also stepping down. This is the result of the crushing defeat in the June 3 local elections and the fallout from the fabricated terror stunt controversy surrounding former Busan mayoral candidate Jeong Yi-han.
Leader Lee clearly expressed his intention to resign during a National Assembly press conference on the morning of the 26th. He cited the derailment of party reform efforts pursued over the past three months due to internal resistance as the primary background for his resignation.
He stated, "For a little over three months since the local elections, I have contemplated and proposed ways for the party to strengthen itself and reform. However, they failed to gain sufficient resonance within the party." He added, "This is no one's fault. The responsibility for failing to persuade others rests entirely on me as party leader."
He also offered a bitter self-reflection that his reform push had instead triggered internal conflicts. Leader Lee added, "If I was rather blocking what other members of the party wanted to accomplish, I thought that stepping aside was the path I should choose for the party," and "As a single party member and a National Assembly representative for Dongtan 2 New Town, I will do my duty in my place."
Immediately following Leader Lee's press conference, the Reform Party released an official statement announcing its transition into an emergency system. The party announced, "The leadership of the Reform Party (the party leader, Supreme Council members, and the Policy Committee Chairman) has collectively resigned to take responsibility for the defeat in the local elections and other issues," adding, "Floor Leader Chun Ha-ram will serve as Acting Party Leader and carry out procedures such as holding a party convention to elect the next leadership."
With Leader Lee—the focal point and major stakeholder of the party—retreating to the second line, the acting leadership system under Chun Ha-ram faces the heavy task of calming scattered party sentiments and proving its self-sustainability as a third-zone political party.