Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jun-seok, Dramatically Embraced but... Conflict Risk Remains 'Precarious'

Issues with Yoon Hae-gwan, personnel selection, and other obstacles still remain

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Geum Bo-ryeong] The reconciliation between Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, was achieved dramatically, but doubts remain about the solidity of their alliance without a ‘concrete agreement.’ It has been quite some time since the full-scale competition over policies and pledges began, yet the first opposition party remains focused on ‘organizational stability,’ causing ongoing public concern that has yet to be fully dispelled. There are still unresolved issues behind the dramatic reconciliation, such as disagreements over the appointment of the election campaign headquarters and party officials, the exercise of nomination rights in the March by-elections and June local elections, and the management of Yoon’s core aides (Yoonhaekgwan).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th, Lee appeared on a radio show and said about the agreement with Yoon the previous day, "What matters is whether we reached an agreement on the big picture," but also admitted, "Yesterday’s agreement cannot be 100% satisfactory." When asked if there were ‘specific agreed-upon details,’ he replied, "There were no specific contents." This can be interpreted as an acknowledgment that the dramatic scenes staged the day before were more of an event with the character of ‘let’s work well together going forward’ rather than the result of resolving fundamental conflicts.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

One of the tasks Yoon and Lee must resolve is the conflict over personnel appointments. Underlying this is still the latent issue of the ‘Yoonhaekgwan.’ When asked if the Yoonhaekgwan issue had been resolved, Lee responded by expressing "infinite expectations for Kwon Young-se, the head of the election campaign headquarters," implying an optimistic view that it might be resolved in the future. At the previous day’s Supreme Council meeting, Lee opposed until the end the appointment of Assemblyman Lee Cheol-gyu as the deputy head of strategic planning, seeing it as a ‘recycling of Yoonhaekgwan.’ This issue was eventually settled by framing it not as a Yoonhaekgwan problem but as a personal conflict between Lee and the assemblyman, with the assemblyman apologizing to Lee. They found a compromise that narrowly avoided the issue.

Another matter to watch is the appointment of Assemblyman Ha Tae-kyung, who defended Lee at the party meeting that resembled a session of criticism against Lee the day before, to a key position in the campaign headquarters. Lee has demanded the formation of a game and gender special committee within the campaign headquarters, and if this proposal is accepted, he also wants Ha to be appointed as the committee chair. Lee said, "I am in close consultation with Head Kwon on this matter." Whether the campaign headquarters side will decide on the establishment of the special committee and the appointment of its chair according to Lee’s wishes could be the first indicator of the chemical bond between the two.

The division of roles between the presidential candidate and the party leader over nomination rights is also a difficult issue to compromise on. Lee insists on playing the role of party leader in the by-election nominations, but Yoon cannot give up nomination rights considering the party’s internal landscape after the presidential election phase, so he inevitably has to check Lee’s influence.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Yong-tae, a youth supreme council member classified as a close aide to Lee, showed that bitterness remains between the two sides by targeting fellow party member Assemblyman Park Soo-young on Facebook, demanding an apology for ‘fake youth’ remarks. Park, known as the ‘Daejang-dong sniper’ for his stance aligned with Yoon’s side, has been calling for "the resignation of all supreme council members including the party leader." On the same day, Park appeared on a radio show and said in an interview that "the issue of demanding resignations has not disappeared; it’s just that the candidate asked to move forward together, so I complied," to which Lee retorted, "I hope they stop and come to their senses."

Um Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, analyzed, "The party atmosphere that seemed ready to ‘kill’ Lee at the party meeting will not change all at once," adding, "Although they have shaken hands in appearance, the possibility of conflicts recurring remains."

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