'Ulsan Hoedong' Faces Internal Turmoil Again Despite Short Time Since Formation... People Power Party Struggles

Lee Jun-seok and Jo Soo-jin Show Differences Over 'Yoon Core Group' Citation in 20th Campaign Committee Meeting... Voices Raised
Lee Jun-seok "I Will Resign from All Campaign Committee Positions"
Kim Jong-in "Personality Makes Return Difficult"

Lee Jun-seok, Leader of the People Power Party (left), Yoon Seok-yeol, Presidential Candidate of the People Power Party (right) [Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, abruptly resigned from his position as co-chairman of the joint election campaign committee after an extreme standoff with Cho Soo-jin, Supreme Council member. Experts pointed out that this unprecedented event, where the party leader declared non-participation in the campaign committee, was caused by the absence of a chemical bond.

Lee, who holds the positions of co-chairman of the joint election campaign committee and head of the publicity and media headquarters, held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly on the 21st and declared, "I will step down from all positions in the campaign committee."

Lee emphasized, "If members of the campaign committee say they do not need to follow the instructions of the co-chairman, 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 investigating this due to lack of composure, I became certain."

This decision by Lee was triggered by a heated argument with Supreme Council member Cho, who is also the head of the central campaign committee's publicity team, over responses to some media reports citing 'Yunhaekgwan' (key figures from Yoon Seok-yeol's presidential campaign) during a closed meeting of the campaign committee on the 20th.

According to reports, Lee said something to the effect of, "Yunhaekgwan's words attack Chairman Kim Jong-in and me, so as the head of publicity, you should sort this out." In response, Cho said, "Why should I follow the leader's orders? I only take orders from candidate (Yoon Seok-yeol)," and the two exchanged heated words loud enough to be heard outside the meeting room. Eventually, Lee slammed the desk and stormed out of the meeting room.

Kim Jong-in, Chairman of the People Power Party's General Election Countermeasures Committee Photo by Yonhap News

Chairman Kim tried to resolve the conflict but was unsuccessful. On the evening of the 21st, Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'One Round Match' and said, "Given Lee's personality, it seems unlikely he will return." He added, "It seems they thought correction was impossible unless Lee took an extreme stance. No matter how much it is election season, there is a hierarchy. If you only listen to the candidate and refuse to listen to others, the campaign committee itself cannot function properly."

As the controversy grew, Supreme Council member Cho also announced that she would step down from her position in the central campaign committee about four hours after Lee declared his resignation. Cho posted on her Facebook, "I sincerely apologize to the people and party members who long for regime change," and said, "I will serve quietly for regime change."

This is not the first noise surrounding the campaign committee. Previously, when candidate Yoon recruited Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University, whom Lee Jun-seok publicly opposed, sparking the 'Lee Jun-seok passing' controversy, Lee canceled all official schedules and went into hiding.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, are having a dinner meeting at a restaurant in Ulju-gun, Ulsan on the 3rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Later, Lee and candidate Yoon seemed to have successfully patched up the rift through a 'Ulsan meeting,' but the conflict reoccurred after 18 days.

As controversies continued, critical voices also emerged within the People Power Party. Assemblyman Jang Je-won criticized Lee on his Facebook, saying, "I am baffled whether the party's campaign committee is for the candidate or for personal politics," and criticized Supreme Council member Cho, saying, "Where does the head of publicity get off selling the candidate's intentions recklessly?" He added, "The current campaign committee is nothing but a disorganized group."

Experts diagnosed the repeated breakdowns as due to the lack of a chemical bond within the campaign committee. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "There is ongoing noise because smooth communication within the campaign committee organization is not happening," and pointed out, "The problem is not recruiting unusual figures like former leader Shin Ji-ye, but rather that candidate Yoon Seok-yeol does not communicate with Lee in advance regarding campaign committee operations such as talent recruitment, which is a bigger issue."

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