Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, who is cited as a potential presidential candidate, said Sunday South Korea needs a new head who can squarely face U.S. President Donald Trump as well as other major leaders around the globe with confidence.

"A leader should be determined and have willingness to lead a balanced diplomatic relationship with neighboring countries in an independent manner, while making the country's interests the top priority," Lee of the Democratic Party said.

Lee said such a leader should be able to "fight" not only Trump, but also Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well.

The progressive mayor also reiterated that the country should cancel the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system into the country.

Seoul and Washington have started steps to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea despite strong opposition from China.

Lee said if the deployment does more harm than good to South Korea, the plan should be scrapped. (Yonhap)