Lee Jun-seok: "If Ahn Cheol-soo decides on unification, we will also consider merger... Negotiations on everything except party name"

"Focus on Delivering Vision and Policy Messages Rather Than Unification During Elections"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is appealing for support for candidate Yoon Seok-yeol on the morning of the 17th at Sodap Market in Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, commented on the opposition unity between his party’s presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl and the People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, saying, "If Candidate Ahn makes such a decision, I think mechanisms such as the previously postponed merger should naturally be considered."

On the 17th, on CBS Radio's 'Hanpanseungbu,' Lee said, "Until a few months ago, we said that except for the party name, everything was negotiable regarding a merger with the People’s Party. We are always open to that."

He added that he is focusing more on presenting vision and policies than on the unity issue. He said, "The time for conducting a poll-based unity has long passed. From our candidate’s perspective, the election campaign atmosphere is intensifying, and we are leading by preempting issues. Therefore, suddenly bringing up the politically engineered unity issue at the center of the election can only be seen as disrupting the election flow." He continued, "That is why, both at the campaign headquarters level and the party level, we intend to focus on vision and policies so that such messages do not arise."

Regarding criticism that his remarks about Candidate Ahn in relation to opposition unity have been harsh, Lee responded, "Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has also been tough before," adding, "Those words are not meant as competitive attacks. Candidate Ahn, as a politician, naturally seeks his optimized path, and as party leader, I seek the best for our party. Why would I have any reason to compete with Candidate Ahn?"

On media reports that Candidate Yoon is considering proposing a 'next presidential election roadmap' to Candidate Ahn, he dismissed it, saying, "That doesn’t seem right."

Meanwhile, on the 16th, Candidate Yoon visited the funeral of a party member who died while operating Candidate Ahn’s campaign bus and had about a 20-minute conversation with Candidate Ahn. After paying respects, Candidate Yoon told reporters, "I spoke from a human perspective with Candidate Ahn, who is competing in the presidential election, about this tragic and unfortunate incident." He added, "Given the nature of this place, I did not discuss anything else that you might be speculating about."

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