Kwon Young-se "Party too busy with internal fights to help after calling Yoon Seok-yeol and Choi Jae-hyung"

"Leadership Should Step Back in Presidential Candidate Primaries"
"Yoon Seok-yeol to Reveal Practical Side"
"Choi Jae-hyung Shows Practicality by Prioritizing Nation or Individual Depending on Context"

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Lee Hyun-joo] Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the People Power Party's External Cooperation Committee, who recruited external presidential candidates such as former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, and former lawmaker Jang Sung-min, criticized that the party has not been properly managing the presidential candidates after their recruitment. He also urged restraint from the party leadership, including Representative Lee Jun-seok, regarding the recent internal conflicts within the party.

Kwon Young-se, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In an interview held on the 18th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, Chairman Kwon expressed regret, saying, "There is no party-level support for the newly joined presidential candidates." He pointed out that the party should systematically assist from preparing pledges to countering negative attacks from the ruling party, but this has not been happening. He said, "The party lets each candidate handle their main pledges on their own, but the party should prepare general common pledges buffet-style for candidates to choose from, and the party should respond at the organizational level to false negative attacks from the ruling party, which would be a great help. However, there is no such support." He added, "I have made proposals to the party regarding this, but the party is too busy fighting internally, so there has been no noticeable progress."

Regarding the conflict between Representative Lee Jun-seok and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, Chairman Kwon expressed the view that Lee's conduct was problematic. He commented on Yoon's sudden party entry during Lee's absence, which caused turmoil, saying, "The leadership did not need to react sensitively. It would have been fine to proceed with the natural party entry ceremony, but making an issue out of it was problematic."

Chairman Kwon also advised that the leadership, including the representative, should take a step back to resolve the internal conflicts arising during the primary process. He advocated the principle that "the leadership should be satisfied with a supporting role. The main actors should be the candidates." Instead, differences related to the presidential primary should be coordinated under the party's election commission chairman. Chairman Kwon said, "Many people think the world revolves around themselves, but in an organization like a party, that is not the case. Recognizing this is how one becomes a successful politician." He also warned, "If you keep forgetting your position, you will remain a failed politician."

Kwon Young-se, Member of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Regarding the presidential preparations of former Prosecutor General Yoon and former Chairman Choi, Chairman Kwon evaluated that "there are regrettable aspects." However, in response to criticism that both candidates have a strong conservative color, he said, "We need to observe more." He noted, "In the case of former Prosecutor General Yoon, he has shown a practical side as well as a deep 'true conservative' side, such as by recruiting the longest-serving spokesperson of the Democratic Party." About former Chairman Choi, he said, "Critics sometimes call him a nationalist and other times a liberal, but I think he has practicality in that he prioritizes the nation where it is necessary and the individual where individualism should come first."

Chairman Kwon, who had expressed willingness to provide aftercare (A/S) for the recruited candidates, said he is communicating with their camps and offering advice. Regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon, he said, "Since he is versatile, I hope he pays attention to the fact that his words can be interpreted in various ways." To former Chairman Choi, he advised, "I want to say that being cautious is not always a virtue. In politics, there are times when you need to speak out." About former lawmaker Jang, he said, "He has been in politics for a long time, so there is nothing special to say, but since the culture of the People Power Party may be different, I can talk about those aspects."

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