Lee Jun-seok and Yoon Seok-yeol Walking on Thin Ice... "Leadership Attack Strategy?" vs "Simple Exchange of Opinions"

Controversy Over Boycott and Absence from Party Event
Tensions May Escalate Before Primary Election

Yoon Seok-yeol, the leader of the People Power Party, visited the National Assembly on the 2nd and performed a gesture symbolizing the presidential candidates joining the party during his visit to Lee Jun-seok, the party leader. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Park Joon-yi] The power struggle between Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is walking on thin ice, seeming to get closer yet drifting apart. The primary elections start on the 30th of this month, and tensions are likely to intensify ahead of it.

On the 9th, in a phone interview with this publication, Lee said about the conflict with former Prosecutor General Yoon, "If they want to fight for control, it will only get harder." He added, "I wonder if this is confusion at the camp formation stage or if they are attacking the party leadership as a strategy because they have set the wrong direction."

On the 7th, when reports emerged that a person from Yoon’s camp boycotted the party leader’s schedule involving other presidential candidates within the party, Lee stated, "If there is no further rebuttal from the camp, I will let it go at this point." Regarding this, he said, "By now, (former Prosecutor General Yoon) should have understood," and added, "Is there anyone on the Yeouido floor who doesn’t know who called whom?" Lee and Yoon’s camp have shown friction over Yoon’s absence from volunteer activities and general meetings involving other presidential candidates within the party.

Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, expressed optimism after a supreme council meeting with reporters, saying, "The conflict will be resolved soon." This is interpreted as urging Lee to actively mediate, concerned that disputes between candidates and leadership could be perceived as a risk to the party.

On the same day, Shin Ji-ho, political affairs director of Yoon’s campaign, explained on MBC Radio’s "Kim Jong-bae’s Focus" regarding the boycott controversy, "There was a phone call between the candidate and senior lawmakers," and "It seems the exchange of opinions escalated into a boycott demand." He said the reason for not participating in party activities was that "there was no obligation to participate."

Meanwhile, Lee began a five-day summer vacation starting that day. During his vacation, he will receive training on personal taxi transfer and acquisition in Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do. He wrote on SNS, "I will receive the training well. I will become an excellent personal taxi driver." With Lee on vacation, the possibility of direct clashes with former Prosecutor General Yoon has decreased, but efforts to secure leadership through SNS or media interviews and the conflict over establishing the party leader’s authority are likely to reemerge.

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