Lee Jun-seok "Constant Communication with Yoon... Involving the Ethics Committee is Inappropriate"

Expressed View That "Political Intent Is Excessive"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is conversing with Representative Lee Jun-seok during a luncheon meeting hosted by the People Power Party leadership on the afternoon of the 10th at the Reception Room of the Yongsan Presidential Office Building. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, expressed his position that "it is somewhat inappropriate to link the communication between the Presidential Office and the ruling party with the Ethics Committee" amid various interpretations regarding his meeting with President Yoon Seok-yeol.

On the morning of the 26th, after attending the 73rd memorial ceremony for Baekbeom Kim Gu held at the Baekbeom Kim Gu Memorial Hall in Yongsan, Seoul, Lee told reporters, "The regular communication between the Presidential Office and the ruling party is completely unrelated to recent party issues, and linking them shows excessive political intent."

Earlier, some media outlets reported that President Yoon and Lee had a private dinner meeting around mid-month to discuss current political issues. Since Lee was about to face an Ethics Committee disciplinary review, there was keen interest in what was discussed. However, the Presidential Office drew a line by stating, "The reports by some media that President Yoon had a private dinner with Lee in mid-month are completely untrue."

Lee explained, "Until now, we have never leaked or disclosed any discussion topics or meeting schedules with the President to the outside. Due to exclusive media reports, such stories have emerged, and now we are mutually verifying these, which is somewhat embarrassing and difficult for me."

When asked about the meaning of posting a photo of 'three strands of white hair' on his Facebook, Lee replied, "Originally, I only had one strand, but three appeared, so I posted it because it was unusual." He added, "Rather than stress about the current situation, both the new government and the party have limited reform momentum, and I hope that this limited energy is used appropriately and not wasted at this time."

Regarding the start of activities of the study group 'Future Innovation Forum' led by Jang Je-won, a so-called 'Yoon core insider' (key associate of Yoon Seok-yeol), Lee said, "There is no need to proactively take a stance on individual meetings or forums. I will comment if there is anything to say after observing their activities."

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