Yoon Seok-yeol, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Lee Jun-seok Share the Same Stage... "For the Democratic Party, Changing These People Means Political Replacement"

First Meeting of Ahn Cheol-soo and Lee Jun-seok After Unification Conflict
Yoon: "Ahn Cheol-soo Will Cooperate with the Democratic Party to Achieve National Unity"
Ahn: "Decided on Unification for Regime Change"... Lee: "Yoon Is the Right Person for Generational Integration"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is holding a joint campaign rally with Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, on the evening of the 5th at the rear gate square of Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, stood together on one stage during a campaign event in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Lee and Ahn, who had openly expressed displeasure toward each other during the opposition unification negotiations, jointly appealed for support for candidate Yoon for the first time since the talks.

Candidate Yoon began his campaign in Jecheon and Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, then proceeded through Yeoju, Icheon, Gwangju, and Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province, and in the evening visited Gwangjin and Nowon districts in Seoul. Initially, Ahn had announced he would only attend the Icheon campaign event during Yoon’s schedule, but he changed plans to also participate in the Gwangjin-gu campaign. Lee was also scheduled to attend the Gwangjin-gu event that day, drawing attention to whether the three would gather on one stage after the unification negotiations.

Lee appeared first at the Gwangjin-gu campaign. He said, “There is only one reason we are gathered here today,” and raised his voice, “Among conservative party candidates, none have received as much support from the 20s and 30s generation as this candidate. Yoon is the right person for generational unity.”

Following that, candidate Yoon and Ahn appeared at the campaign site, and after Lee finished his speech, the three stood together on one stage. Yoon stood in the center, with Ahn on the left and Lee on the right. As supporters and citizens cheered, the three held hands and raised them in a cheer.

After receiving the microphone from Yoon, Ahn introduced himself as “Ahn Cheol-soo, who decided on unification for regime change,” and emphasized the necessity of regime change. He said, “How hard life has become under the current administration. If Yoon’s common sense and fairness combine with my vision and national unity, we can definitely create a better Republic of Korea,” appealing for support for candidate Yoon.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is holding a joint campaign rally with Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, at the rear gate square of Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the 5th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Candidate Yoon launched an offensive against the government and ruling party, calling them “an incompetent and corrupt group.” He said, “These people only see power, positions, and vested interests,” and criticized, “They are making noise about political change with ten days left until the election, but isn’t replacing these people political change? It’s a shameless trick to dilute the public’s desire for regime change.” He then sarcastically remarked, “Shouldn’t they remove ‘Democratic’ from their party name? It’s not the Democratic Party but rather the Together Cliques Party, the Together Gang Party.”

He also emphasized, “If you give overwhelming support to me and the People Power Party so that we take charge of the government, we will quickly merge with Ahn and the People’s Party to share broader political philosophies and values. We will also cooperate splendidly with sensible politicians from the Democratic Party to achieve national unity.”

After finishing his speech, candidate Yoon held hands with candidate Ahn and greeted the citizens. Lee left before Yoon’s speech ended to move on to his next schedule in Nowon-gu.

Initially, it was widely expected that the joint campaign of the three would not materialize, as Lee reportedly conveyed his intention to leave early for his Nowon-gu schedule after Ahn’s participation in the Gwangjin-gu campaign was confirmed. However, right after Lee’s speech ended, candidate Yoon and Ahn arrived at the campaign site, and the three stood together on one stage. Nonetheless, there was no sign of Ahn and Lee mentioning each other or shaking hands during their speeches that day.

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