Lee Jun-seok "Yoon's 'Democracy' Remark Causes Confusion... Jo Su-jin's Inappropriate Actions Not Just One or Two Days"

"Not in Contact with Yoon After Resignation"
"Nothing Changed After Ulsan Agreement"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is leaving a hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, after having a lunch meeting with Kim Jong-in, the general election campaign committee chairman, on the 22nd. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, expressed displeasure toward presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, who described the conflict between himself and Supreme Council member Jo Su-jin as "that is democracy."

On the 22nd, Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Hanpanseungbu' and was asked if he had communicated with candidate Yoon after resigning as co-chairman of the People Power Party's election campaign committee. He answered, "No," adding, "I was very taken aback when (Yoon) made the democracy remark. This is not something to be evaluated in the realm of democracy, so I spent about 10 seconds wondering how to interpret that statement."

He said, "One of the declarations Yoon made at the Ulsan agreement was 'If Lee Jun-seok says to do it, do it; if not, don't.' So I thought the party line was settled. But when it actually came to the test, (Yoon) took no action, and instead, I was reproached through others for not supporting the candidate," he recounted.

Earlier, on the 20th, Lee and Supreme Council member Jo clashed during a closed Supreme Council meeting while discussing the response strategy related to Yoon's wife, Kim Geon-hee. It is known that Jo dismissed Lee's instructions by saying, "Why should I listen to you? I only listen to the candidate." Following the controversy, Lee resigned from his position as co-chairman of the campaign committee the next day, and Jo also stepped down from her roles as vice-chair of the central campaign committee and head of the public relations team.

Regarding this, Lee said, "(Jo's issues) are not something that started just recently. There have been many highly inappropriate incidents." However, he did not provide specific examples, stating, "If I talk about what happened in the Supreme Council meeting, I would come across as petty."

On handling allegations related to Kim, Lee stated, "My consistent position was to apologize where necessary and defend against excessive attacks," adding, "If it is decided (through campaign meetings) to proceed this way, then we can follow through, but if discussions are blocked, it leads to going forward without a grand strategy."

He continued, "If I stayed in this position, I would be confronted with various issues at every meeting, and as the leader, I would have to endure it. Given my personality, I would have eventually reached a breaking point."

Regarding his future plans, Lee said, "I will continue to handle party affairs," and added, "I do not give orders or plan. If the candidate specifically says, 'Let's go together here,' I will go, but I will no longer proactively plan election activities. I will respond if asked for help with the campaign."

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