"The Civic Party is not our rival. We try to maintain a partner relationship with it. And you can see none of our members quit to join the Civic Party," he said.
The Democrats often hold joint news conferences with the Civic Party, along with other parties and independent lawmakers who are part of what is often called the "pan-democratic camp."
There are 25 lawmakers who are considered to be "pro-democracy," and at the moment nine of them belong to the Democratic Party.
The past year has been especially hard for the Democrats because of internal bickering and a scandal.
Last March, some core members of the party were accused of being offered money by Chinese agents attempting to infiltrate the party.
A five-member panel was set up to investigate the matter.
Internal e-mail exchanges among party members were also leaked and eventually posted on the Internet.
The e-mails contained criticism of the leadership, including Lee, and challenged their handling of the suspected infiltration.
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