Lee Jun-seok "If Moon had been with Ahn, could he have become president?"

"An, Just Leave Him Alone... Let Him Do Whatever He Wants"

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 Intern Reporter Kang Woo-seok] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Party, saying, "He is always someone who does whatever he wants," and asked, "Do you think President Moon Jae-in could have become president if he had worked with Ahn Cheol-soo?"

On the 21st, Lee appeared on KBS Radio's Joo Jin-woo Live and said, "Many people who know Ahn Cheol-soo well usually say this at times like this," adding, "'Just leave him alone. Let him do whatever he wants to do.'"

Regarding the controversy over remarks related to the death of a People Party member, he said, "I pointed out that justifying political actions by upholding the wishes of the deceased person is itself very inappropriate," and countered, "It is a great insult to use the deceased's will for election campaigning without confirming their intentions."

About the phone dispute with Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, before Ahn's declaration of the breakdown of unification, he mentioned, "Yoon Seok-youl called (Ahn), but he didn't answer, so he called again," and added, "When they suggested meeting between the staff members to talk, it was just announced as if they were displeased."

Lee raised the criticism level, saying, "Do you think President Moon Jae-in could have become president if he had worked with Ahn Cheol-soo?" and added, "(At that time, Ahn) kept insisting on innovation, so when asked if he would become the Innovation Committee Chair, he refused again. Eventually, since (Ahn) had already decided to break the party (New Politics Alliance for Democracy), it was probably an act to project a negative image of President Moon as a mere formality."

He continued, "President Moon must have been troubled whether to merge with him (Ahn) or to appease him when running for president, or whether to unify," and added, "But things went well when he didn't do that, right?"

He said, "I can mock Ahn Cheol-soo. Politicians mock each other," and pointed out, "On the other hand, the People Party threatens with unification every election. That is a behavior that must be eradicated."

He went on to say, "(Ahn) acts as if he is on the side of regime change but continues to try to increase his share, which goes against the cause."

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