Choi Jae-hyung: "The President is a Great Leader... Yoon, Embracing Lee Jun-seok Will Benefit the Party"

"Lee's Inclusiveness Will Help Expand Public Support for the Party"
"Nomination Reform Is for the Next Leadership, Concerns About Internal Conflict Are Unfounded"

Choi Jae-hyung, Chairman of the Innovation Committee of the People Power Party.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yoonjin Kim] Choi Jae-hyung, Innovation Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, stated on the 22nd regarding former leader Lee Jun-seok, who has been causing controversy with his continuous critical remarks toward the party and government, "If the goals are aligned, the president embracing him could also benefit the party."

Chairman Choi appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 22nd and evaluated the argument that President Yoon Seok-yeol and 'Yun Hae-gwan' (key figures close to President Yoon) should embrace former leader Lee. He explained, "The position of the president is a large vessel that can contain everything," adding, "If the president embraces (former leader Lee) a bit, it could help expand public support for the party."

When asked about the possibility of the party's Ethics Committee deciding on additional disciplinary actions against former leader Lee, Chairman Choi responded, "Many opinions see (Lee's remarks) as going too far, but there can be various perspectives on that part. Therefore, I think it might be more helpful for the Ethics Committee to be cautious about disciplinary measures."

Questions were also raised about the Innovation Committee's full meeting scheduled for the afternoon. Chairman Choi dismissed speculation that the first innovation plan would be announced at the meeting, saying, "If opinions converge at the full meeting, an innovation plan may come out, but if further supplementation is needed, it might not be finalized."

Regarding concerns that strengthening candidate qualification criteria could cause internal party conflicts, he drew a clear line, saying, "I think that is an unfounded worry." Chairman Choi emphasized the necessity of candidate reform, stating, "There is controversy about why the current Innovation Committee discusses candidate rights when the next leadership will exercise them, but rather, the Innovation Committee can help the next leadership exercise candidate rights rationally."

Meanwhile, Chairman Choi revealed that he also listened to former leader Lee's opinions related to the party's innovation plan. He said, "As the party leader, he was the person who knew and pondered the party's operations the most over the past year, so I said I would listen to his opinions," adding, "I just heard some ideas."

The People Power Party Innovation Committee plans to hold its first full meeting since the launch of the emergency committee led by Joo Ho-young at 2 p.m. on the 22nd to coordinate opinions on innovation plans discussed in subcommittees. The agenda items proposed by the three subcommittees?'Talent Subcommittee,' 'Party Member Subcommittee,' and 'Livelihood Subcommittee'?are expected to include △strengthening PPAT (Public Official Basic Qualification Test) △restructuring the Candidate Management Committee △strengthening the authority of the party's Ethics Committee.

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