Lee Jun-seok "Ahn, easily conceded in the progressive camp... Is conservatism that easy?"

"An Side Declares Unification Failure? They Are Just Playing Both Sides"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is answering reporters' questions before boarding the Yoon Seok-yeol campaign promotion "Passion Train" departing from Cheonan Station on the morning of the 11th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 15th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, stated that he "opposes unification through negotiation-based competition" in response to Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, who proposed unification through a national primary via public opinion polls.

Lee appeared on SBS Radio's 'Current Affairs Special Forces' in the afternoon and said, "I think unification is possible if Ahn himself judges that it is difficult to continue the election, or if he wants to contribute to regime change, or if he simply gives up the election and declares support," expressing his stance.

He added, "It seems that (Ahn) insists on a method that is even slightly advantageous to himself, so we would prefer the method Ahn used in the past with President Moon Jae-in. He just dropped out and that was the end of it. Or we would prefer the method he used with Mayor Park Won-soon."

Previously, Ahn had conceded his candidacy to lawyer Park Won-soon during the 2011 Seoul mayoral by-election. In the 2012 presidential election, he ran as an independent but withdrew midway while attempting unification with Moon Jae-in, the Democratic United Party candidate. In last year’s April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, Ahn competed against Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, in a candidate unification primary through public opinion polls but was defeated.

Lee criticized, "When this person (Ahn) was in the progressive camp, he kept conceding so easily, but now that he has come to the conservative side, does he think we are very easy to deal with?" He continued, "Even during the last Seoul mayoral unification, he said he preferred that method, but if you think about it, it’s a bit absurd. His declaration to run was to become the unified opposition candidate. He didn’t consult with us. From the start, he did whatever he wanted, suddenly declaring unification on his own."

He went on, "Until a few days ago, the People’s Party kept making statements criticizing me, saying they wouldn’t unify, so I ignored them. But then suddenly the next day, they proposed unification. Are their spokespeople really consulting with Ahn?" He criticized, "Because they keep changing lanes like this, these people become very dangerous on the road."

He then said, "Ahn’s side also said they might declare the unification failed. We are going to leave them to their own devices playing the drum and gong among themselves," and directly attacked, "They proposed unification the day before yesterday, and then within a few days, they might declare unification failed? This is just them playing the drum and gong among themselves. Since they are not consulting with us, we will just leave them to do as they please."

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