Former Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok Throws In the Towel... "No Regrets at All, Candidates Bear Unlimited Responsibility in Elections" (Comprehensive)

Resign from all campaign committee positions except party leader

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on the 21st in the party leader's meeting room at the National Assembly regarding his position within Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign headquarters. Lee is in conflict with Cho Su-jin, the chief spokesperson and Supreme Council member of Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign headquarters. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-i] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, announced on the 21st that he will step down from all positions related to Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign committee. Lee expressed dissatisfaction not only with Cho Su-jin, the campaign committee's public relations director who triggered the current situation, but also with candidate Yoon Seok-yeol for neglecting the issue.

Lee held a press conference at the party leader's office in the National Assembly on the same day, stating, "I will resign from all positions within the campaign committee." He added, "The preparations made by the Public Relations and Media Headquarters for the election can be either continued by successors or completely scrapped. I have no regrets."

This means he intends to resign not only as the standing campaign committee chairman but also as the head of the Public Relations and Media Headquarters.

The day before, Lee had a dispute with Director Cho over handling negative responses within the campaign committee. When Cho defied Lee's instructions by saying, "I only listen to candidate Yoon," the conflict escalated.

Regarding this, Lee said, "If members of the campaign committee say they do not need to follow the standing campaign committee chairman's orders, it denies the necessity of the campaign committee's existence. Furthermore, when I confirmed that there was no active effort to correct this and, rather, that a YouTube broadcast link mocking the party leader was sent to journalists, I became certain of the situation."

The reason for his resignation is the insubordination of Cho Su-jin, the People Power Party campaign committee's public relations director, which triggered the current crisis, and the subsequent handling of the situation.

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on the 21st in the party leader's meeting room at the National Assembly regarding his position within Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign headquarters. Lee is in conflict with Cho Su-jin, the chief public relations officer and Supreme Council member of Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign headquarters. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Lee mentioned, "If the meeting in Ulsan gave some people a sense of responsibility to act for the greater good, it seems to have instilled in a certain group a mistaken confidence that since it was wrapped up hastily, they could act freely without feeling burdened or being criticized."

He continued, "Seeing the Yoon core supporters who opportunistically throw in a word of false equivalence, I felt a sorrowful thought that such behavior might repeat throughout the election period."

However, he clearly stated that he will retain his position as party leader, elected at the June party convention. Lee said, "I will diligently perform party duties as the party leader," adding, "Of course, as agreed in Ulsan, I will cooperate with any candidate requests related to party affairs."

During the Q&A session with reporters, Lee indirectly referred to both Director Cho, who triggered the crisis, and candidate Yoon, who neglected the situation.

Lee, who went straight to the press conference without meeting Cho, who was waiting at the party leader's office, said, "I have no intention of accepting any form of apology from Director Cho." Earlier, Cho had waited in the leader's office to apologize. It is known that candidate Yoon urged Cho to meet Lee and apologize regarding this conflict.

He mentioned that Cho shared YouTube videos defaming Lee with journalists and said, "This is not a matter for apology or explanation but a disciplinary issue. Despite my immediate call for resignation, seeing this response makes me want to ask if she truly cannot resign of her own will."

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is leaving the National Assembly after holding a press conference regarding his position at the campaign headquarters of presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol on the 21st in the party leader's meeting room at the National Assembly. Lee is in conflict with Cho Soo-jin, the chief public relations officer and supreme council member of Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign headquarters. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Lee said, "My proposal to discuss the most recent critical issues at a meeting with all responsible campaign officials was rejected, and the public relations director even made highly inappropriate remarks mentioning the candidate's name. Given the public declaration of refusal to follow orders within the standing campaign committee and the lack of any responsible attitude, I believe this campaign committee has already become dysfunctional, leading me to decide to resign from my campaign positions."

When asked by reporters if there were problems with candidate Yoon's leadership, Lee replied, "I will not comment on the candidate." However, he added, "As party leader, if the presidential election results are unfavorable, it would be a considerable dishonor, but the ultimate responsibility for the election lies with the candidate. I respect the candidate's choices." This was a subtle way of indicating that the responsibility for neglecting the current crisis lies with candidate Yoon.

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