Lee Jun-seok: "No communication with Yoon for a week, was complacent about 'Yun Hae-kwan' issue"

"Yoon, Only 4-5 Months into Politics... How Could He Understand the Culture of Riding on Others' Coattails"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is being interviewed by Yonhap News at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 24th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, reflected on the failure to resolve the issue of 'Yunhaekgwan (key associates of Yoon Seok-yeol)' during the 'Ulsan meeting' held on the 3rd, calling it "complacent."

In a media interview on the 28th (MBN, Newswide, TV Chosun, News9), Lee said, "Since candidate Yoon Seok-yeol has only been in politics for about 4 to 5 months, how could he fully understand the culture of sycophancy in the political world?"

Regarding the expanded conflict with Supreme Council member Cho Soo-jin and his resignation from the election campaign committee due to the aftermath of the 'Yunhaekgwan' issue, he explained, "I judged that the 'Yunhaekgwan' problem would be resolved with just the three clauses of the Ulsan agreement," and admitted, "I acknowledge that I was somewhat complacent."

At the time of the 'Ulsan meeting,' Lee met with candidate Yoon and agreed to △ strengthen direct communication between the party leader and the presidential candidate to share all important matters, △ prioritize active communication with the younger generation, and △ interpret that the party leader would respect and follow the candidate's intentions when the candidate requests the party leader regarding necessary party affairs.

Lee pointed out, "The problem with 'Yunhaekgwan' is that under the decision-making structure, they block information and instead, so-called key communicators bypass the necessary parties and communicate only among themselves."

He added that the reason for not further resolving the 'Yunhaekgwan' issue at that time was, "It is very burdensome for me in politics to dismiss each individual," emphasizing, "(Yunhaekgwan is) a problem of the decision-making structure." He continued, "Recently, a lot of information has been exchanged centered around General Headquarters Chief Im Tae-hee, and many decisions are being made within that framework. If these things proceed well, concerns can be greatly reduced."

When asked if he had contacted candidate Yoon after resigning as co-chairman of the campaign committee, Lee replied, "It's a bit embarrassing, but there has been no direct communication in the past week," and said, "Chairman Kim Jong-in also spoke about it, and the candidate did too. At this point, all three of us agree that it is best not to rush my participation in the campaign committee."

He also referred to the case two months ago when Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, announced his resignation as campaign chairman, saying, "Throwing away the campaign chairman position is not such a politically significant situation."

Nevertheless, he said, "I tend to follow most of what Chairman Kim says," adding, "If there is something I did not follow for the first time among what Chairman Kim said, it is this resignation as campaign chairman." Earlier that day, Chairman Kim had criticized in a media interview, "If Lee had not shown an impulsive reaction and had been a bit more patient as the party's top leader, the unfortunate incident would not have happened," and said, "A leader must be able to embrace various things."

Regarding this, Lee said, "When President Park Geun-hye brought both of us in as emergency committee members, Chairman Kim was making very reformist moves in terms of policy, and I was making reformist moves in terms of messaging," adding, "During the recent Seoul mayoral election, he successfully played the role of the party's commander in maintaining stability, and I played the role of attracting the younger generation." He continued, "As long as he is in his position, he will perform his role, and I will also do what I can."

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