Hong Joon-pyo: "If Lee Jun-seok is pushed out, the opposition's presidential election will be difficult... The fight for positions has already begun"

Representative Lee Jun-seok Cancels All Schedules on the Morning of the 30th
Leaves Message "If So, This Is It" on SNS the Day Before

Hong Joon-pyo, People Power Party lawmaker / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Joo-hyung] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, canceled all scheduled events on the 30th with a brief message saying, "If so, this is the end." In response, lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo pointed out, "If Leader Lee is pushed out, it will be difficult for the People Power Party to contest the presidential election." This is interpreted as a warning that continued internal strife within the party could inevitably affect the upcoming presidential election.

On the same day, when a question titled "What will happen to the People Power Party if Leader Lee is pushed out?" was posted on the 'Cheongmun Hongdap (Hong Joon-pyo answers youth concerns)' board within the youth platform 'Youth's Dream' that Hong created, he replied, "The presidential election will become difficult."

He added, "The party leader should become the chief election committee chair to contest the presidential election, but strange people are causing chaos, turning the election camp into a mess," expressing concern by saying, "It's already a fight over positions, which is truly pathetic."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, are attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th, talking before the meeting started. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

When asked, "Is candidate Yoon Seok-yeol trying to oust the party leader?" Hong responded, "If the party leader is sidelined, it ruins the presidential election," and claimed, "Senior members who lost in the last party leader election are gathering and pushing the leader like that, causing the party to go off track."

On the previous day (29th), Leader Lee posted a cryptic message on his Facebook saying, "If so, this is the end," followed by a smiling face with a thumbs-down '^^p' emoticon. Since then, he has canceled all scheduled events planned for the next morning.

Leader Lee has recently been in continuous conflict over issues such as the appointment of the People Power Party's presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol and the election committee. The possibility of former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in, whom Lee repeatedly emphasized recruiting, joining the election committee has become uncertain. On the other hand, Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University’s Department of Criminal Psychology, whom Lee publicly opposed, has joined the election committee.

Recently, complaints have also been raised that communication between Leader Lee and candidate Yoon's side has not been properly conducted. In an interview on the 29th with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Lee lamented that he was not properly informed of Yoon's schedule, saying, "I have never heard about it until it was released to the media."

He continued, "There will be people trying to sow discord by saying 'Lee Jun-seok is being bypassed,' or 'Lee Jun-seok is not cooperating with the candidate's schedule.' From my perspective, this is absurd, but it keeps happening," expressing his regret.

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