Kim Jong-in, Granted Full Authority to Manage the Previous Committee, Has a Solution to Resolve the 'Yoon Core Group' Issue

The Resurfacing of 'Yunhaekgwan' Following Lee Jun-seok's Resignation
Kim Jong-in Plans to Enhance Efficiency Centered on the Situation Headquarters

Kim Jong-in, the General Election Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is arriving at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 22nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The People Power Party's election campaign committee is facing a crisis just about three weeks after its launch. After Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, expressed his intention to resign, targeting internal issues within the campaign committee following a two-day conflict with Jo Su-jin, the campaign committee's public relations director, Kim Jong-in, the general election campaign chairman, has stepped in to reorganize and manage the situation. Chairman Kim proposed a plan to improve efficiency rather than a complete overhaul as a way to restructure the campaign committee.

On the morning of the 22nd, presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol met with Chairman Kim at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, to discuss related measures. Before the meeting, Chairman Kim told reporters, "Since (Leader Lee and Director Jo) have resigned, we have no choice but to accept the situation as it is," adding, "We plan to lead the campaign committee with a concrete plan on how to improve efficiency under the current conditions." On the same day, Chairman Kim held a closed-door meeting with the heads of various departments.

With Candidate Yoon entrusting Chairman Kim to manage the situation, the key issue now is how the campaign committee will be reorganized. Currently, Chairman Kim's plan is to use the General Situation Headquarters, led by Director Im Tae-hee, as a 'mobile helicopter' to steer the campaign committee. This approach seems to focus more on strengthening specific organizations to enhance operational efficiency rather than a full-scale reorganization. Regarding this, Lee Yang-su, the senior spokesperson for the campaign committee, explained, "The General Situation Headquarters will play an important role in understanding what each unit is doing and reconnecting those that are not organically linked."

Since Chairman Kim has repeatedly emphasized the 'slimming down' of the campaign committee, there is also a possibility of restructuring some members' roles. Currently, the campaign committee has about 500 members, but unclear roles and lack of organic communication between departments have been pointed out as problems. However, dismantling the 'mammoth-sized campaign committee' does not seem easy. Given the intertwined interests, resistance from within the committee cannot be ruled out. Regarding this, Assemblyman Jeong Jin-seok urged cooperation on Facebook, saying, "Isn't calling it a swarm of flies humiliating? Let's put aside our small interests for the greater cause of regime change."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Although Leader Lee and others involved firmly deny it, the possibility of his return to the campaign committee remains ongoing. In a phone interview with this outlet on the same day, Leader Lee said about the so-called 'Yoon core group' (key associates of Yoon Seok-yeol) identified as problematic within the campaign committee, "I have neither expectations nor interest," while sharing a photo on Facebook the previous night of a headband he wore during former President Park Geun-hye's 2012 presidential campaign, still showing his lingering attachment to 'winning the presidential election.'

Close aides to Leader Lee strongly expressed that this incident stems not from a simple 'rebellion episode' but from a fundamental recognition of problems within the campaign committee. Kim Yong-tae, a supreme council member, said on the radio that day, "The reason for the party leadership's decision is the urgency that if we continue like this, we may fail to achieve regime change," adding, "If we do not clean up those who flatter power this time, we believe we will be committing a sin in history." Kim Cheol-geun, the political affairs chief, also pointed out, "Amid the complex election process, with Candidate Yoon lacking much political experience, the issue of the so-called Yoon core group supporting him inevitably emerged as a key problem."

Within the party, while there is a consensus that "a problem that was bound to explode has exploded," there are also criticisms that Leader Lee made a hasty decision. Kim Jae-won, a supreme council member, criticized Leader Lee on a radio program that day, saying, "If he feels bad or believes he is being neglected and keeps insisting and making noise about it, and furthermore, decisively disrupts the overall direction, I think that is wrong."

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