Jung Jin-seok "No to Cage Aquaculture" VS Lee Jun-seok "Audacity and Nonsense"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, is attending the 20th presidential election primary candidates' general meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th and delivering a greeting./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] The People Power Party organized an event with presidential pre-candidates, but the absence of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung has intensified the controversy over 'Lee Jun-seok passing.' In response, Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, emphasized the 'party' as the center, while some senior lawmakers stressed the 'candidates' as the focus, heightening tensions.

On the 6th, five-term senior lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok posted on Facebook an article titled "Big fish cannot grow in a fish cage." Jeong pointed out, "The main characters of our party's presidential primary are the candidates," adding, "It is not the party leadership."

Jeong, a supporter of former Prosecutor General Yoon, cited the recent meeting with all pre-candidates as problematic. He said, "The party leadership lined up the presidential candidates and stood together, but the messages I received from younger members in their 30s and 40s via KakaoTalk were cold. They said it felt like 'eating japchae that has been passed around several times at a feast,' and 'a lack of imagination.'" He added, "Big fish cannot be raised in a fish cage. Anchovies, mackerel, and dolphins have different growth conditions. They need to absorb nutrients where they can grow well." It appears he compared former Prosecutor General Yoon to a dolphin and other candidates to anchovies and mackerel.

Jeong also stated, "The role of the party leadership is to support candidates invisibly so they can run freely," and criticized Lee by saying, "Each candidate has a spiderweb-like schedule and cannot cancel appointments. The central party should not suddenly call them repeatedly. It should be 'candidate convenience-oriented.'"

Lee also expressed discomfort over the passing controversy. On the 6th, he wrote on Facebook, "During the party convention, I attended every event without saying a word about the rules, and there was no problem conducting the election." He emphasized that he followed the party-centered schedule during the convention without affecting the election significantly.

He continued, responding to the criticism that "the party leader is at the center rather than the candidates," saying, "I don't know who is being so unreasonable, claiming to have pushed up the primary schedule in August to create space for candidates to be active quickly." He added, "If candidates are not getting attention, some people say, 'Why doesn't the leader promote the candidates?' But now, saying 'Only the leader is visible and the candidates are not' is nonsensical."

Previously, the People Power Party planned several events with presidential pre-candidates. In particular, on the 4th, they held an event at a jjokbangchon (shantytown), and on the 5th, a meeting with all pre-candidates was held consecutively. However, former Prosecutor General Yoon, former Chairman Choi, and lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo did not attend, which Lee expressed regret over. Lee also pointedly remarked on a radio show, "If these things keep happening, the public will probably make a judgment."

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