"Political Retirement and Controversial Remarks"… Na Kyung-won and Joo Ho-young United in 'One Heart, One Mind' to Counter Lee Jun-seok

Candidates Lee Jun-seok and Na Kyung-won, who are running for the leadership of the People Power Party, are attending a debate held on the 8th at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum and Juni Park] Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won and lawmaker Joo Ho-young, who are challenging the People Power Party leadership, have been sharply criticizing former Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok. In particular, at the debate on the 8th, they pointed out Lee’s remarks and attitude.

The People Power Party held a joint debate called Oreun Sori at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the same day.

At the debate, Lawmaker Joo raised the issue of former Supreme Council member Lee’s remark about ‘retiring from politics.’ Lee had previously appeared on a radio show and said, “Becoming the party leader this time could be a poisoned chalice for me,” and “If I fail to create a presidential candidate in the current situation, I might retire from politics early.”

In response, Lawmaker Joo said, “If you just listen, it sounds like ‘Lee Jun-seok will retire if he loses the presidential election,’” and “That’s why I tell him to be careful with every word he chooses. There are rumors going around that Lee Jun-seok will retire if he loses the presidential election,” he pointed out.

Former Supreme Council member Lee explained, “If we lose the presidential election, the responsibility lies with the presidential candidate, but if it is due to unfair management during the presidential primary process, I have no choice but to take responsibility, so I said I would take responsibility,” adding, “I did not have the intention of retiring from politics.”

Former lawmaker Na also criticized Lee’s ‘harsh remarks.’ He said, “(Lee) criticized me again yesterday, who is the second-place candidate in the polls, in a very hostile manner,” and “He calls reasonable suspicions a negative frame unconditionally, but if he becomes party leader, this attitude could be a huge risk,” he criticized.

In response, former Supreme Council member Lee rebutted, “(Na) is trying to frame me as making harsh remarks,” and “On the contrary, he himself used the term ‘Dalchang (Dalbit Changnyeodan)’ toward supporters of President Moon Jae-in in 2019.”

Then, former lawmaker Na raised suspicions that Lee might be aligned with the ‘Yoon Seok-yeol exclusion theory’ that arose from remarks by former People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in.

Earlier, on the 4th, former Chairman Kim reportedly said when meeting former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, “Looking at history, there has never been a case where a prosecutor directly became president.”

Na criticized this, saying, “Lee said about former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol’s mother-in-law case, ‘If it becomes a criminal issue, it cannot be covered up,’” and “I doubted my ears whether this is actively defending former Prosecutor General Yoon,” emphasizing, “Isn’t this the same position as former Chairman Kim?”

In response, former Supreme Council member Lee said, “If you had listened to all my remarks, you wouldn’t say that,” and “Claiming that I colluded with former Chairman Kim is just a conspiracy theory. This is something done by far-right YouTubers, not something a party leader candidate should do,” he sharply criticized.

After the debate, Lee met with reporters and said about his ‘impressions of the debate,’ “The negativity among candidates seemed a bit severe, so I responded based on the principle of proportionality.”

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