Jang Je-won Makes Surprise Visit to Busan Office of Lee Jun-seok... 'Showing Strength? Counterattack to the Ambush'

Lee Jun-seok Meets Jeong Ui-hwa in Busan and Visits Local Office

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, who canceled his scheduled party leader engagements and visited Busan, stopped by the office of Assemblyman Jang Je-won on the 1st. Amid rumors of conflict and criticism that he had 'gone into hiding,' interpretations vary from seeing this as proof that Lee is actively managing party affairs to viewing it as a strategic move against Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate.

Lee’s side stated that "Lee visited Sasang District in Busan to offer encouragement and discussed local issues such as party membership trends with party officials," releasing photos from the visit.

It appears that Lee officially revealed he was not simply in hiding but was overseeing party affairs locally. However, some interpret his visit to Assemblyman Jang’s constituency as a countermeasure against Yoon Seok-yeol, with whom there have been tensions. Assemblyman Jang criticized Lee’s suspension of scheduled party leader activities, saying, "The root of the current discord is ‘why am I being excluded?’" and added, "This kind of territorial dispute is happening right in front of the candidate."

There is also an interpretation that this visit was a response to People Power Party Secretary-General Kwon Seong-dong’s visit to Lee’s office. The day before, Yoon sent Secretary-General Kwon to Lee’s local office regarding Lee’s seclusion. Yoon mentioned, "I told (Secretary-General Kwon) to find out the reasons and try to meet him." In this context, Secretary-General Kwon waited for 30 minutes at Lee’s office. However, Lee’s side stated, "We have not received any contact from the candidate."

Yoon, currently in Chungcheongnam-do, told reporters, "I will not force contact," adding, "Once he returns to party affairs, we can discuss anything." He intends not to create a situation where he appears to be humbling himself by deliberately seeking out Lee.

Meanwhile, Lee, staying in Busan, also met with Jeong Ui-hwa, a senior figure in the People Power Party and former Speaker of the National Assembly, the previous day. Regarding the evening meeting, Jeong said, "I advised that we should be careful not to appear as internal party strife and that we need to unite around the candidate," adding, "Since Yoon does not have much political experience, I told him to support him as party leader."

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