Yoon Seok-yeol Faces 'Last-Minute Dilemma' in Campaign Team Selection... Final Talks with Lee Jun-seok Tomorrow

Meeting Scheduled Ahead of First Announcement
Rep. Kwon Seong-dong Mentioned as New Secretary-General Candidate

Photo by Lee Jun-seok, captured from the Facebook page of the People Power Party leader

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong and Park Junyi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, had consecutive meetings with party lawmakers on the 16th, combining breakfast and lunch sessions. The breakfast meeting was held privately, while the lunch was with newly elected lawmakers. It appears that the candidate is narrowing down the list ahead of the first appointment announcement of the election campaign committee scheduled for the 17th. Yoon had a tense relationship with party leader Lee Jun-seok over the appointment of the party secretary-general, and the two plan to discuss this issue during their second meeting on the 17th, following their first meeting on the 15th.

According to Yoon’s campaign on the day, the first appointment of the campaign committee was originally scheduled for the 20th, but after discussions between Lee and Yoon, the timing was moved up. A key People Power Party official said, "After Lee returns from his regional schedule on the 17th, he will meet with candidate Yoon, and the first appointments will be announced in the afternoon."

For the new secretary-general position, Representative Kwon Seong-dong, Yoon’s chief of staff, is being mentioned. In a phone call, Representative Kwon said, "It is true that Lee and Yoon met yesterday and agreed to replace the secretary-general," but regarding his own nomination, he said, "I have not been notified." However, given that Representative Kwon has Yoon’s strong trust, he is considered the most likely candidate. Yoon’s spokesperson Lee Yang-su also explained, "The secretary-general is the candidate’s closest aide." Although the secretary-general appointment was not finalized at the meeting on the 15th, it seems highly likely that the second meeting will resolve the issue with Lee accepting Yoon’s side’s ‘Kwon Seong-dong card.’

On the previous day, Lee posted a photo on Facebook of himself eating jajangmyeon with candidate Yoon, emphasizing the ‘one team’ spirit by saying, "Charging forward toward victory," and "The silk pouch is steadily being made through our candidate’s efforts." After the highest-level meeting on the same day, floor leader Kim Ki-hyun told reporters, "We plan to officially launch the campaign committee within this week and expect to do so by the weekend without major difficulties."

With former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in likely to take the role of overall campaign committee chairman, rumored candidates for heads of various campaign divisions include former Representative Im Tae-hee, Representatives Kwon Young-se, Joo Ho-young, Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Tae-ho, and former Representatives Kim Yong-tae and Na Kyung-won. Former Representative Na said, "If an offer comes, since it is our party’s candidate, shouldn’t we all help?" adding, "It’s not about which position is important, but about helping for regime change."

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