The 36-year-old leader of South Korea’s biggest opposition party said his fellow millennials will push back against Chinese “cruelty” in places like Hong Kong, indicating a tougher line with Beijing if his political group regains power. Harvard-educated Lee Jun-seok, the newly installed leader of the People Power Party (PPP), said generational change has been taking place and he aims to harness it at home to return his conservative group to the presidency, and abroad to revisit Seoul’s relations with the international community. “We’re definitely going to have to fight against the enemies of democracy,” said Lee, the youngest person ever selected to lead a major South Korean political party. Lee, who took part in Hong Kong’s protests in 2019 , said the pro-democracy movement in the Asian financial hub was reminiscent of the Gwanju uprising in the 1980s that toppled South Korea’s autocratic government. “We joined other Hongkongers in protests, pushing through police barricades,” he said. “They were chanting the song March for the Beloved [a Gwangju protest song] and appealed for support from Korea. “The protests were really fierce. Facing police troops who were moving on us, wielding shields and batons, I identified myself as a politician from Korea and ... live streamed their violent acts to the outside world. But the Korean government turned away from Hong Kong.” South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s administration is filled with people who were part of pro-democracy protests in the 1980s. Moon has walked a fine line with China, his country’s biggest trading partner, taking a softer tone than the US and the European Union in criticising moves by Beijing they say have suppressed autonomy in Hong Kong and promoting forced labour in Xinjiang . The Moon government has pledged to protect human rights but has faced criticism from the opposition for not taking a stronger stand against countries faulted for their rights records such as China and North Korea. “I can definitely say the Moon administration is leaning towards China,” Lee said, adding the Korean public is “not happy about it”. Lee accused Moon of “hurting the country’s pride as a model democracy in East Asia by taking a lukewarm attitude toward the Hong Kong issue”. “Our party members must act as guardians for democracy and fight those who destroy democracy, no matter where they are, whether they are in Hong Kong, Myanmar or North Korea,” he said. The Foreign Ministry has previously stated it supports Hong Kong’s “high degree of autonomy” in accordance with China’s “one country, two systems” principle. Kimchi wars: South Korean restaurants still use Chinese imports, survey shows Moon’s single five-year term ends in 2022 and one of Lee’s biggest tasks will be finding a conservative candidate to lead his party’s charge. Lee remains too young to run, as the South Korean constitution requires a person be at least 40 to become president. Lee also had questions about the current policy with the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-un , a year older than the PPP leader. Lee said the North Korean system has little to offer now when it comes to unification. “Do we want to preserve anything from their economic system? I say no,” he said. “It’s a different relationship from before. That almost means that it could be a little harder negotiation with the North because we have nothing to lose now but they have everything to lose.” Lee Jun-seok also addressed various other major issues: Qualification tests “When they have to deal with articles and numbers, I expect them to actually know what the numbers mean. The younger generation definitely expects their representative to be more qualified than them,” Lee said. “We are going to provide education and training programmes for our current party members. Whoever can adapt to that change, will survive the test.” Democracy “The younger generation definitely cares much about democracy. I was born in 1985 and the Korean people earned, or acquired democracy in 1987. We were definitely born given the privilege of democracy. This younger generation believes that if people of other countries are deprived of such a privilege, we feel sorry for them.” Kim Jong-un “He studied in a Western school, I heard, and that means he knows the values of democracy and social systems of a developed country. Then, why is he acting in such a way?” Younger generation “I am pretty confident that they are actually looking forward to the next presidential election coming up in March. They believe that they can change the nation.” Gender inequality “In the 1960s and 70s there was definitely some point where Korean women were excluded from education opportunities and say working opportunities. It was our mothers’ stories, but in year 2021, I think none of the Korean girls and women are excluded from basic education in Korea and they have equal chances for jobs. But the Moon Jae-in government is trying to say there is still too much inequality to be fair competition.” Presidential bid in 2027 “Definitely no. I believe if you were to run for presidency, you have to be prepared to debate in global situations for your people, and I need more training.” Additional reporting by Park Chan-kyong