Lee Jun-seok "I Have Not Considered Voluntarily Resigning as Party Leader at All"

Yoon's Side "Lee Representative Responsible"
Resignation Rumors Once Raised but Denied
Likely to Support from Outside While Performing Party Duties

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is delivering a New Year's greeting for 2022 on the morning of the 3rd at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. 2022.1.3 Photo by National Assembly Press Corps [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] As Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, announced a reorganization plan for the election campaign committee, attention has now focused on the relationship between candidate Yoon and party leader Lee Jun-seok, as well as whether Lee will decide to join the campaign committee or resign. Yoon's side has placed some responsibility for the split between Yoon Seok-yeol and Kim Jong-in on Lee, giving weight to calls for his resignation, but Lee has firmly stated that he "does not consider resigning."

On the day of the announcement of Yoon's campaign committee reorganization plan, Lee appeared on a radio show and was asked, "Is there absolutely no chance of voluntary resignation?" He replied, "I have not considered it at all." Lee, who resigned as co-chairman of the campaign committee on the 21st of last month, is currently focusing solely on party affairs as the party leader. As his candid remarks toward Yoon have been perceived as internal strife, and Yoon's approval ratings continue to decline, some inside and outside the party are evaluating Lee as the main cause of the crisis.

Kim Kyung-jin, the standing public relations special advisor of the campaign committee, directly criticized on the same day, saying, "In the election phase, there have been no attacks against opponents, but internal issues have been greatly exaggerated beyond their actual substance, escalating the problems." He argued that despite holding the authority as party leader, Lee has not worked alongside the candidate but rather fueled tensions through media interviews. However, Lee's side maintains that after leaving the campaign committee, he only pointed out issues related to the 'Yoon core group' and did not directly criticize the candidate.

For now, Lee is expected to continue supporting candidate Yoon from the sidelines while managing party affairs. The party office plans to review candidates for the next secretary-general position. Lee has also stated that he will take responsibility as party leader if he loses the presidential election. He declared, "If I wanted to be a party leader who avoids responsibility, there are many ways to do so, like carrying a backpack and pretending to work hard while touring Honam." He added, "I think the candidate's appeal is not being fully expressed compared to his qualities. Having met the candidate several times, I believe he can do better," making it clear that he has no intention of completely withdrawing from the election or making extreme decisions such as resignation.

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