Kim Jae-won: "Lee Jun-seok-Yoon Seok-yeol Conflict, Emotional Fight... Not a Desirable Direction"

"Kyungjunwi Debate on the 18th, Possibility of Overstepping Authority Raised"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, expressed concerns on the 10th about the escalating conflict between leading presidential candidate former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Party Leader Lee Jun-seok. He also raised the issue of 'overstepping authority' regarding the presidential candidate debate scheduled for the 18th, foreshadowing controversy.

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party (right), is giving a welcoming speech to Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential pre-candidate, who visited the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 2nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and regarding the relationship between Leader Lee and former Prosecutor General Yoon, he said, "Our party's cause is regime change," adding, "To strive for regime change, ultimately the candidates must become the main actors, work hard, and receive the people's choice. To do that, we need to make the candidates the main actors and support them, but is the current situation really like that? From the moment they came in, haven't they started biting each other? (This is worrisome.)"

He said, "This is not a desirable direction at all," and added, "Since Leader Lee is the party leader, it is necessary for him to manage things a bit more and show efforts toward regime change for the party. Right now, it seems there is some emotional conflict, and more efforts are needed to feature the candidates as the main actors."

Regarding the conflict between Leader Lee and former Prosecutor General Yoon, Kim said, "There may be complaints that they are being trained too much, and from the party leader's standpoint, once they join the party, they are under my command and should act according to my plan," adding, "I hope both sides set the direction for the cause of regime change or the greater cause."

He also put a brake on the People Power Party presidential candidate debate scheduled for the 18th.

Kim said, "The Democratic Party has already started their primaries, but our party is just folding our arms, so they are showing preparations for the primaries and preparing solidly so that once the primaries start, they can immediately attract the public's attention. But right now, the primary preparation committee is not preparing for the primaries; it seems they are making candidates who have not even registered yet participate in primaries," adding, "We need to review whether the primary preparation committee is fulfilling its original role."

He said, "Candidate debates, joint speeches, and TV debates are matters that should be held repeatedly, 10 or 20 times, and it is important to have the election commission formed and candidates registered so that they can officially compete," adding, "The primary preparation committee is preparing for the primaries, not starting them. Naturally, there will be controversies among the candidates about this."

Kim said, "Personally, debates should be judged carefully," and added, "I think this matter should be discussed once at the Supreme Council meeting to determine whether it can be done in this way."

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