People Power Party's Ongoing Internal Strife... Can Lee and Kim Resolve Their Conflict? (Comprehensive)

Lee Jun-seok "Collecting Opinions on Changing Presentation Format"
Kim Jae-won "Immediate Suspension of Debate or Vision Presentation"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Junyi] As conflicts escalated within the People Power Party over the authority of the Primary Preparation Committee and whether to hold a debate, the party leadership stepped in to directly mediate. After discussions, the leadership decided to proceed with the debate on the 18th but plans to prepare a compromise regarding the format. However, despite these efforts, voices of opposition within the party are growing louder.

On the 13th, Representative Lee stated on Facebook, "Representative Kim personally visited Sangju yesterday to discuss various party affairs," adding, "We also discussed whether it would be possible to request the Primary Preparation Committee to consider partial changes to the debate format, and we are currently gathering opinions from the Supreme Council members, including the possibility of switching to a presentation format." He noted, "At this point, some Supreme Council members agree while others oppose." The day before, Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, visited Sangju, Gyeongbuk, where Representative Lee was on vacation, to discuss related matters and is currently collecting opinions within the party.

Regarding the debate format being considered as a compromise, he said, "Preferences may vary by campaign, so the Supreme Council will try to coordinate opinions as much as possible over the weekend." Earlier, Representative Lee had expressed support for holding the debate, stating that the primary schedule should follow the decision of the Primary Preparation Committee. However, considering various negative opinions, there is a plan to change the format to something like a meeting or presentation.

He also referred to the current schedule, saying, "Except for one campaign, all have confirmed attendance," implicitly referring to former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl's campaign, which has not expressed intention to attend the debate. This suggests that holding the debate would not be problematic unless it is only Yoon's side that does not participate.

Floor Leader Kim also told reporters after the floor countermeasure meeting that day, "We agreed on a broad framework with Representative Lee to prevent ongoing discord within the party." However, regarding the details, he said, "It is still under discussion, so it is not appropriate to disclose specifics yet," promising to announce them soon. The party leadership is reportedly planning to prepare a compromise plan within this week and announce it before the Supreme Council meeting on the 17th.

Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Although the leadership is working hard to reconcile conflicts with a compromise plan, opposition within the party continues. Previously, there were claims that holding a debate before the candidate registration date was intended to undermine some candidates who were less prepared. Moreover, there were criticisms that the authority to decide the primary schedule lies not with the Primary Preparation Committee but with the Supreme Council.

On the same day, Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won criticized on Facebook, "Now they seem to be changing the joint debate into a vision policy briefing, which is wrong."

He pointed out that the Primary Preparation Committee itself lacks decision-making authority. Kim said, "From the beginning, the Primary Preparation Committee was a temporary body created to plan the primary preparation," adding, "Whether it is a debate or a vision policy briefing, this is an overreach by the committee and must be stopped immediately." He further stated, "Each candidate's circumstances differ, and forcing candidates who have not even registered to present policies only weakens our candidates' competitiveness," suggesting, "It would be better to advance the candidate registration and immediately establish the Election Commission."

Some presidential candidates also voiced opposition. Kim Kyung-jin, external cooperation special advisor for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that morning, "I don't understand why the Primary Preparation Committee is directly holding the primary debate," criticizing, "What difference does it make whether it's on August 18 or September 10? I don't understand why the committee is pushing this so hard."

On the same day, former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, a presidential candidate from the party, emphasized again on Facebook, "Serious matters like setting primary rules should be decided by widely gathering the opinions of members and by the Supreme Council, the highest decision-making body according to party rules." In response, Representative Lee criticized this, saying, "They are ignoring the process and procedures," and "I will not tolerate arrogance and self-righteousness."

On the other hand, People Power Party lawmaker Hong Jun-pyo supported Representative Lee on Facebook that day, saying, "The party leader should take the lead," and urged, "Those from specific candidate camps should refrain from banding together to attack the party leader."

Amid ongoing controversy, the Primary Preparation Committee held a meeting at the National Assembly that morning to discuss related matters. Committee Chair Seo Byung-soo told reporters after the meeting, "The committee will maintain the debate framework announced last Tuesday and will refer to the opinions of candidate representatives regarding the debate format," adding, "When the representatives gather at 4 p.m. today, we will listen to their opinions."

Regarding decision-making authority, he maintained the position that it is not necessarily required to go through the Supreme Council's resolution. Regarding the debate controversy, he said, "We considered how to increase recognition of our party's candidates and provide opportunities for them to perform well, and there were many requests from candidates to create various opportunities," concluding, "We proceeded according to those requests."

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