Lee Jun-seok "Riding the Tiger... The Goal Is to Make Anyone President"

"Chance of Winning Over Half"
"Yoo Seung-min Faction, Questionable if It Even Exists"
"Unification of Senior Candidates? Embarrassing Situations May Arise"

Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok, who is running for party leader, is speaking at the joint speech meeting for People Power Party leader and supreme council member candidates from Gwangju, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Jeju, held on the afternoon of the 30th at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok, who passed the preliminary election for the People Power Party leader on June 11 in first place, expressed confidence on the 31st, saying, "I have ridden on the back of a tiger," and "There will be a major structural change beyond generational replacement."

Lee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the same day and said, "If the tiger is led in the right direction, it can sufficiently counter the lack of ambition and self-preservation of established politicians."

He continued, "Every party undergoes a major transformation at least once. The People Power Party also needs to go through several transformations," adding, "If the discourse on fairness that I propose can take root as the foundation of our party, I believe there will be a major structural change beyond generational replacement."

Regarding senior candidates pointing out his lack of political experience, he rebutted, "The floor leader is responsible for negotiations within the assembly, so experience there is important, but the party leader's main role is to present the party's vision and future," and said, "It is not a meaningful criticism."

Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok is watching a baseball game at Samsung Lions Park in Suseong-gu, Daegu on the afternoon of the 28th.
Photo by Yonhap News

Lee also appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day and responded to a question about his chances of winning the party leadership by saying, "I have passed the halfway mark."

Regarding the possibility of senior candidates uniting, he pointed out, "There are many cases where uniting results in 1+1 not even reaching 1.5," and said, "If they decide to unite, they can, but it could lead to a very embarrassing outcome."

On the factional debate sparked by some labeling Lee as part of the 'Yoo Seung-min faction,' he explained, "Since I am from the Bareun Party, I can be considered part of the Bareun Party faction. Yoo Seung-min was the Bareun Party's presidential candidate, and he was a friend of my father to that extent."

He added, "I even doubt whether the Yoo Seung-min faction truly exists, but even if it does, they struggle to make Yoo Seung-min president, so how could they exert organized power to push Lee Jun-seok to party leader?" and said, "If they had power, they would have made Yoo Seung-min president long ago."

Lee also said, "Becoming party leader this time could be a poisoned chalice for me. If I fail to secure the presidency due to my own fault, it could be an embarrassing situation," emphasizing, "I have no choice but to work hard. Whether it's Yoo Seung-min, Yoon Seok-yeol, Hong Joon-pyo, or Ahn Cheol-soo, someone must become president. Making a particular person the presidential candidate cannot be my goal."

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