Ju Ho-young and Lee Jun-seok Clash Over Election Experience: "Only Visited Local Hills vs. Palgongsan"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Jun-seok, former Supreme Council member of the Future United Party (now People Power Party) preparing to run for the party leader, criticized former floor leader Joo Ho-young, who mentioned the "neighborhood hill" metaphor to highlight Lee's lack of election experience. Lee argued that Joo, who was elected five consecutive times only in the Daegu district where winning is relatively easy, has no grounds to make such remarks.

On the 11th, Lee posted on social media (SNS), "Everest is high, but there are mountains under the sky," adding, "I will never be complacent and will continuously challenge myself throughout my political career to climb that mountain."

He continued, "A true mountaineer always challenges higher and more rugged places. Senior Joo Ho-young has climbed only Palgongsan five times, so why did you not aim for more difficult and challenging mountains? Those who only climbed Palgongsan cannot understand the hearts of juniors who fiercely challenge mountains like Suraksan, Bukhansan, and Gwanaksan," he said.

Joo Ho-young, a member of the People Power Party, holds a press conference related to his declaration of candidacy for the June party convention at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Lee’s mention of Palgongsan was a sarcastic reference to former floor leader Joo, who ran five times and was consecutively elected only in Daegu, where the chances of winning are high.

Earlier, former floor leader Joo appeared on CBS Radio’s "Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show" and said, "This presidential election is not only a matter of the fate of the Republic of Korea but also a critical moment for our party to regain power and survive, or become the opposition for ten years. It should not be used as a stage for individual political growth." He added, "If we want to mount an Everest expedition, we cannot just climb neighborhood hills; we must also climb mid-sized mountains like Seoraksan or Jirisan and lead the expedition. I believe the public will judge well those who want to run this great war of the presidential election without direct experience, just with ambition."

Using metaphors like "neighborhood hill," he indirectly expressed that a first-term lawmaker with little election experience should not be entrusted with leading the party in the presidential election. In response, Lee’s mention of Palgongsan pointed out that former floor leader Joo only ran in the relatively easy-to-win Daegu elections.

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