[Summary] Heated Power Struggle in People Power Party... Na Kyung-won "A Party Like a Melting Pot" vs Lee Jun-seok "Perpetuating Young Voter Support"

Former Lawmaker Na Kyung-won: "Not Only Experience and Ambition but Also Wisdom, Decisiveness, and Political Skills Required"
Former Supreme Council Member Lee Jun-seok: "Promise of Openness and Competition to the Younger Generation"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won is answering reporters' questions after holding a press conference to announce her candidacy for the party leader election at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the morning of the 20th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] With the People Power Party's leadership election about 20 days away, former lawmaker Na Kyung-won and former Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok have thrown their hats into the ring for the next party leadership, intensifying the competition for party leader.

On the morning of the 20th, former lawmaker Na held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "I will achieve all the necessary and sufficient conditions for winning the presidential election through reform and unity to realize the dream of regime change," and announced her candidacy for party leader.

She added, "The responsibility of this party leader, who will captain the rough voyage of the presidential election and the upcoming local elections, is so significant that it will determine not only the fate of our People Power Party but also that of the Republic of Korea," emphasizing, "This responsibility cannot be borne by experience and ambition alone. It requires wisdom, political skill, and decisiveness."

Regarding the recruitment of next presidential candidates such as former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and People's Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo, she explained, "Recruitment will naturally be necessary for regime change," and "If we become a melting pot party where more regions, generations, and classes can participate together, we will be able to recruit all opposition candidates."

Former Supreme Council Member Lee Jun-seok running for the People Power Party leadership election / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, former Supreme Council member Lee also officially declared his candidacy for party leader on the same day. Lee held a press conference at the People Power Party Central Office in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, "I will speak frankly. I want to become the party leader."

Referring to the April 7 by-election, he called it "an undeserved victory obtained by chance," and emphasized reform by saying, "To sustain the support of the young voter base, we must change significantly. First, we must purge the chronic cowardice and greed deeply rooted in each of our hearts."

He also argued for opening the party to the younger generation. Lee said, "If the young generation gains confidence that they can be the main force of our party, we will be overwhelmed with talented individuals, crying out in happiness," adding, "What we must promise the young generation is openness and competition."

Furthermore, he introduced plans such as implementing a competitive selection system for major party positions so that anyone capable can participate based on their abilities, requiring qualifications similar to the National Competency Standards (NCS) for all public election candidates, and conducting 2:2 team debate battles on presidential candidate topics.

Regarding the recently controversial 'gender issue,' he stated, "The reason I spoke about the gender issue was due to inquiries asking for analysis of the unusually high support from men in their 20s in this by-election," and drew a line by saying, "Among the many political agendas I am interested in, gender is a very small portion."

Meanwhile, with the People Power Party leadership election on June 11 about 20 days away, 10 candidates, including former lawmaker Na and former Supreme Council member Lee, have been confirmed to compete for the next party leadership.

The People Power Party plans to eliminate five candidates through a first preliminary round where public opinion polls reflect 50% party members and 50% the public, and then select the party leader in a second final round where the weight of party members is increased to 70% and the public opinion poll weight is lowered to 30%.

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