Lee Jun-seok: "Kim Jong-in is the Democratic Party's X-Man? The Opposition's A-Class X-Man is Ahn Cheol-soo"

Former Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, Lee Jun-seok. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate for Seoul mayor, on the 17th, calling him an "A-grade X-Man." This was a rebuttal to the People’s Party’s earlier description of Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, as an "X-Man sent by the Democratic Party."

On the same day, Lee posted on his Facebook, "Compared to Chairman Kim Jong-in, who speaks as the party leader, the person who actually refused unification in 2018 and ran for Seoul mayor is closer to an A-grade X-Man from the perspective of the entire opposition," indirectly criticizing candidate Ahn.

He added, "In the past, there was unification between Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo, and between Ahn Cheol-soo and Park Won-soon, so he was cooperative with the ruling party."

Earlier, Ahn Hye-jin, spokesperson for the People’s Party, mocked Kim’s recent criticism of candidate Ahn as "someone who can’t even debate" during an interview on YTN Radio’s 'Hwang Bo-seon’s Start of a New Morning,' saying, "There is suspicion among the public that (Chairman Kim) might be an X-Man sent by the Democratic Party."

Spokesperson Ahn continued, "Chairman Kim Jong-in has relentlessly unleashed harsh criticism only against Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate for Seoul mayor," and pointed out, "The public is fed up with politicians who constantly engage in negative remarks, slandering and biting each other. From the perspective of citizens longing for a regime change, this could even be seen as an act of betrayal."

Meanwhile, Chairman Kim and candidate Ahn recently engaged in a heated exchange over the unification of opposition candidates for the Seoul mayoral by-election. On the 15th, at the election committee meeting held at the Yeouido central party office, Chairman Kim criticized candidate Ahn, saying, "Someone who can’t even properly debate cannot become a candidate."

In response, candidate Ahn fired back on the same day during CBS Radio’s 'Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,' saying, "I wonder if there is a 'kingmaker' behind Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.