"'Practice Problems' Rejected..." Yoon Campaign Committee's Complete Dissolution as a Drastic Measure Also Faces Disruption

Lee Jun-seok, Conflict Peaks with Yoon Saying "I Wish You Good Luck"
Yoon Greets on Way to Work, but Lee Says "No Interest"
People Power Party Leadership Proposes Resolution for Lee's Resignation
"Party Leader, Absolutely Unbearable... Time to Decide"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] On the 5th, Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, announced a complete disbandment of the election campaign committee (선대위) and a reform plan, but conflicts with party leader Lee Jun-seok continue. When Lee's planned election campaign was rejected by Yoon's side, he left a message saying "I wish you good luck" and again showed an attitude of turning his back on Yoon.

He appears completely indifferent to the crisis situation where there is even pressure for him to resign as party leader due to his failure to resolve the conflict as the party leader. It is forecasted that a truly unified 'one team' is unlikely to be expected even after the disbandment of the election campaign committee.

On the morning of the same day, Yoon announced that he would disband the election campaign committee and operate it in a reduced form as the election campaign headquarters (선대본부). This drastic measure was taken as internal party conflicts surrounding the committee continued, leading to a drop in approval ratings.

Until the announcement, the atmosphere between Lee and Yoon was not bad. Lee expressed a positive stance, saying, "I think there are parts that align with what I have advocated" regarding Yoon's plan for operating the election campaign headquarters. Yoon also expressed the view that "I hope Lee, as party leader, will take part in the election campaign," leading to speculation that their relationship might improve for a time.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is greeting citizens with New Year's wishes near Yeouido Station in Seoul on the morning of the 6th. / Photo by Yonhap News

However, in the afternoon, Lee suddenly posted a message on Facebook hinting at a break with Yoon. He wrote, "Today, I made proposals within reasonable limits, which I called practice problems, to try to rekindle support from the younger generation in the election, and those proposals were just rejected." The election campaigns Lee proposed are known to include greeting commuters on the subway and experiencing delivery rider work.

Lee added, "I wish you good luck. As party leader, I will be faithful to party affairs." He also did not attend the parliamentary meeting scheduled for the 6th, which he had originally planned to attend. This showed strong dissatisfaction with the rejection of his proposals. Although Yoon appeared near Yeouido Station in Seoul in the morning and made a gesture of reconciliation by greeting commuters, Lee reportedly responded with "I have not been contacted" and "I am not interested."

As internal party conflicts deepened due to controversies such as the so-called 'Yoon core group (윤핵관)' issue, Yoon disbanded the election campaign committee with a determination to reform, but confusion was exposed as soon as the new election campaign headquarters was launched. The People Power Party was scheduled to approve the appointments of Secretary-General Kwon Young-se and Deputy Head of Strategic Planning Lee Cheol-gyu in the morning, but Lee refused to submit the appointment proposals, and Yoon exercised priority authority over party affairs to push through the appointments. Later, Lee switched to support, and the appointments were unanimously approved, but the personnel issue again revealed a lack of smoothness.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and lawmakers are shouting slogans emphasizing "original intention" and "one team" at the People Power Party's "Change and Unity" caucus held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 6th. Photo by Yonhap News

As a result, some question what has really changed after the disbandment of the election campaign committee. Lee continues to openly express his dissatisfaction as before, showing an attitude far from that of a 'one team.'

Eventually, there was even a proposal to resolve to urge Lee's resignation. At the parliamentary meeting, Floor Deputy Leader Chu Kyung-ho reportedly said, "Today is a meeting where our party is reborn, but we still cannot see any change in the party leader," adding, "I cannot tolerate this anymore. It is time to decide on the party leader's resignation, so let's decide here."

Assemblyman Kim Tae-heum strongly criticized Lee for calling the subway greeting campaign and other proposals to Yoon "practice problems," describing it as "arrogant and presumptuous." However, even if the parliamentary meeting resolves to urge Lee's resignation, it has no binding force. Lee has consistently drawn a line, saying he has "never considered" resigning from the party leadership.

Among People Power Party supporters, criticism is emerging that "even as the ship is sinking, they are only engaged in power struggles without a sense of crisis." On the party's website 'I Have Something to Say' board, posts urging Lee's resignation such as "Please stop fighting" and "Is this election a joke?" are flooding in.

Experts predict that the conflict between Yoon and Lee will not be easily resolved. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "I believe the conflict between the two will likely intensify. Although the election campaign committee was disbanded, the election cannot be fought alone, so it is expected to be run mainly by Yoon's close aides. Lee hoped to clean up the Yoon core group, but in a way, it looks like Kim Jong-in, the general election campaign committee chairman, was chased out by the Yoon core group. If Yoon's approval rating falls further to the 20% range and is judged to be impossible to recover, candidate replacement could even be considered."

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