Yoon Joins Hands with Kim Jong-in... Tension with Lee Jun-seok over Party Leadership

Conflict Over Secretary-General Appointment
Yoon Absent from Today's Supreme Council Meeting
Lee Also Expresses Discomfort

Compromise Proposal for Kim Jong-in Presented
Coordination on Upper Organization Structure Completed
Meeting and Dialogue at Today's Book Launch Event

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Kim Jong-in, former Emergency Response Committee Chairman, attended the publication celebration of "Today's Character Story in Comics: Emergency Response Committee Chairman - Kim Jong-in" held on the 15th at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and shook hands. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Juni Park] Signs of conflict are emerging between Representative Lee Jun-seok and presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol over who will hold the leadership of the People Power Party's party affairs. Amid a tense standoff over the appointment of the Secretary-General, who oversees the party’s management and organization, Yoon suddenly did not attend the Supreme Council meeting on the morning of the 15th. Representative Lee also unusually omitted his public remarks at the meeting, revealing his discomfort. The current Secretary-General is Assemblyman Han Ki-ho, who was appointed by Representative Lee after his inauguration. Following reports the previous day that Yoon’s side conveyed the intention that “the Secretary-General should be appointed from their own people,” Secretary-General Han left his position decision to Representative Lee, but Lee has not disclosed whether he will accept Han’s resignation.

Regarding Yoon’s absence from the Supreme Council meeting, Lee Yang-su, chief spokesperson of the campaign headquarters, said, “A meeting with someone outside the party was urgently scheduled last night to expand outreach, so he could not attend, and this was communicated to the party.” It is known that Yoon held a private meeting with independent Assemblyman Lee Yong-ho, a former member of the Democratic Party. However, the conflict was exposed as Representative Lee refrained from making public remarks during the meeting. Lee stated at the Supreme Council, “I have no public remarks,” and remained silent throughout the meeting. The meeting ended shortly after 20 minutes. This is only the second time Lee has refrained from public remarks, the first being at the Supreme Council meeting on August 17, which involved conflict over the presidential primary debate rules. He also skipped the back briefing (immediate Q&A with reporters).

This situation appears to reflect Representative Lee’s dissatisfaction with Yoon’s side pressuring Secretary-General Han to resign. Han has only been in office for four months, and within the party, there is an assessment that forcing the resignation of Han, who is effectively implementing policies known as the “silk purse,” is unreasonable. The Secretary-General plays a role akin to a “treasurer” during the election period, overseeing organizational and financial affairs. Yoon’s side has expressed the opinion that the Secretary-General, who manages party finances, should be someone aligned with the candidate.

There is also analysis that this is related to interests surrounding nominations for the upcoming local elections. It is known that Yoon’s side initially intended to appoint Assemblyman Kwon Seong-dong as Secretary-General and Assemblyman Jang Je-won as Chief of Staff, but this was reportedly blocked due to opposition from former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in.

On the other hand, it seems that a compromise has been reached regarding the composition of the campaign headquarters. Although there was a clash between former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in’s call for “personnel reform” and Yoon’s desire to “take care of his own people,” it was confirmed on this day that the two had finished coordinating their opinions on the upper-level organizational structure. The campaign will be organized under a one-top system with Kim Jong-in serving as the overall campaign chairman, and the position of general campaign headquarters chief, who was responsible for practical work, will be eliminated. Instead, it is known that they are considering a system with 4 to 5 general headquarters under the overall campaign chairman, each responsible for policy, organization, publicity, and other areas. Within the party, voices opposing this remain, saying “Kim Jong-in cannot handle all the practical work alone.” Professor Kim Geun-sik of Gyeongnam National University, who served as head of the Vision and Strategy Office in Yoon’s camp, appeared on the radio that day and said, “I understand that by the weekend, the general framework, outline, and major appointments between Yoon and Kim have progressed in discussion.” However, there remains the possibility of continued friction over specific personnel appointments for each position.

Meanwhile, Yoon, Representative Lee, and former Chairman Kim all attended the publication ceremony of “Reading Today’s Figures in Comics ? Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in” held at a hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the same day. Although the three sat at the same table, there was little conversation before the event began. In addition to political figures, Son Kyung-sik, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, also attended the ceremony, drawing attention.

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