Jin Joong-kwon Criticizes "Lee Jun-seok for Not Stopping Intra-Party Fights and Fighting Himself... Lacks Political Philosophy"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party (left), Jin Jung-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, regarding conflicts among the party's presidential candidates, saying, "When the camps fight, the leader should intervene to stop it, but the leader is instead fighting with the camps," and added, "The leader risk has become a reality."

On the 14th, Professor Jin posted on Facebook, "I had predicted two months ago that such a comedic situation would occur," sharing an interview he conducted with JTBC in June.

Former Professor Jin said, "Lee Jun-seok's party reform plan is the realization of 'meritocracy,' but the measure of that ability ultimately comes down to the skill of arguing," and criticized, "The format for competing in that is a debate battle, using comprehensive programming channels to hype up the atmosphere, and this is the entirety of his political philosophy. He has such a strong star consciousness that he pursues personal politics."

Regarding the internal strife over the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate debate, he analyzed, "Candidates will be tired of debates once the primary begins, so insisting on this means that this event is different in nature from a normal candidate debate," and added, "It’s just a televised battle where they intend to 'kill' candidates who lack debating skills."

Leader Lee recently had a verbal clash with some presidential candidates, including former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, over the preliminary candidate debate. During this process, former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min and lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo defended Lee, escalating the conflict into a clash among presidential candidates.

Former Professor Jin said, "That’s why I said he (Lee) has no philosophy. He firmly believes this is the way to reform the party," and criticized, "He knows nothing else and can do nothing else." He continued, "The crisis has begun. He is drawing battle lines everywhere and even against me," and said, "In any case, this situation must be resolved, and if the Supreme Council decides, each camp should follow without objection. It is too late now to remove the leader."

He also advised, "Competition should be fierce but not descend into emotional confrontation. Each camp must cool down and operate a hotline between the leader and each candidate to ensure smooth communication and prevent suspicion of 'bad faith.'"

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