Advice from Kim Jin-tae to Lee Jun-seok, "Take a Break... I Also Lost Before, But the Opportunity Came"

"Now, We Must Deliberately Maintain a Cool Attitude"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Kim Jin-tae, governor of Gangwon Province. / Photo by Governor Kim's Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Kim Jin-tae, Governor of Gangwon Province, commented on Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, who has been meeting supporters nationwide after receiving a six-month suspension of party membership, saying, "I hope he takes a break for a while."

On the 29th, during an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' Kim made this remark in response to questions about Lee's recent disciplinary action and internal conflicts within the People Power Party.

Kim said, "I also lost once in the parliamentary election two years ago, but from the next day, I didn't go around saying, 'Citizens, I'm working hard, so how can you treat me like this? I will work harder,' greeting people in the market like that," adding, "I thought there must have been reasons for what happened."

He continued, "Rather, voters need some time to forget Kim Jin-tae. With that thought, there was a period of about a year when I just stayed home reading books," and added, "Then the opportunity came again. Now, it is necessary to deliberately have a period of cool-off."

On the 19th, when Lee visited Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, to meet young party members, he also had a 'Makgeolli meeting' with Governor Kim. Regarding this, Kim said that there were criticisms such as "Kim Jin-tae betrayed him," and stated, "If I were the governor of Gangwon Province and went out to get some fresh air due to difficulties, and the people I was close to avoided me saying 'It causes misunderstandings,' how would I feel?" He emphasized, "(Lee) came to help me a lot when I was in a difficult situation, so I met him on a human level. Politics is a matter for later."

Meanwhile, the internal strife within the People Power Party, which had been quiet for a while after Lee's disciplinary decision, has intensified since a text message from President Yoon Seok-youl, calling Lee "a party leader who only stabs from within," was revealed on the 26th. Inside the party, there are even talks about switching from the current acting leader and floor leader system under Kwon Seong-dong to an emergency committee system.

In this regard, Lee expressed his discomfort on Facebook on the 27th, saying, "They hang a sheep's head in front, but behind the scenes, they receive dog meat from gangsters and sell it."

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