Na Kyung-won Repeats 'Factional Dispute'... Lee Jun-seok Refutes with Approval Ratings

Na Kyung-won Says in Radio Interview "Cannot Have a Fair Primary"... Repeats Same Claim for Days
Lee Jun-seok Retaliates "The Biggest Victim of Factional Dispute Is Former Lawmaker Yoo Seung-min"

Na Kyung-won (from the right), Lee Jun-seok, Joo Ho-young, Cho Kyung-tae, and Hong Moon-pyo, candidates running for the People Power Party leadership election, are taking a commemorative photo before the 100-minute debate held on the 31st at the MBC Studio in Sangam, Mapo-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Ahead of the People Power Party's national convention on the 11th, the 'factional dispute' between former Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok and former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who are running first and second in approval ratings, is intensifying.

On the 1st, former lawmaker Na appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and pointed out, "If the person himself (former Supreme Council member Lee) who said he would make Yoo Seung-min president becomes the party leader, can there really be a fair primary?" Former lawmaker Na has been repeating the same claim for several days. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min and former Supreme Council member Lee were once colleagues in the Bareun Party, and it is known that Lee's father is friends with Yoo.

Former lawmaker Na also criticized former Supreme Council member Lee's 'bus theory,' saying, "We need to trust the fair management of the primary, but if our party is the only one to start the race early, isn't that to favor former lawmaker Yoo?" Former Supreme Council member Lee had argued about the need for the bus to 'depart on time' regarding the management of the presidential primary, stating that they cannot wait for outsiders. This means the party should start the primary regardless of the interests or schedules of external candidates such as former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, People Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo, or independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo.

Former Supreme Council member Lee is not letting up on his counterattack. While acknowledging what should be acknowledged, he insists on clarifying the facts on points he disagrees with. In a TV debate held the day before, he said, "(Yoo and I) have a special relationship through our fathers, and there may be a faction called the Bareun Party faction, but there is no regular meeting or concrete group activity," and specifically rebutted, "Just because I used Yoo's office a few times during interviews doesn't mean I have an office there; my office is in Sangye-dong, Nowon-gu."

In a radio interview on the same day, former Supreme Council member Lee said, "The biggest victim of the (factional) dispute is former lawmaker Yoo," adding, "If people think that the rules slightly favor Yoo, they will say 'it was because of that (faction),' so I have no choice but to be defensive." Conversely, it is widely known that he has a dislike for leader Ahn, whom he also named as the biggest beneficiary. He said, "If there was a public perception that I could not distinguish between public and private matters and would mess things up, it would be difficult for me to receive this much support now."

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