Yongho Lee Declares Candidacy for Ruling Party Floor Leader... Consensus Endorsement Fails

Lee, Honam District Re-elected Lawmaker
"Restoring Public Trust Through Party Unity"
House Leader Election on the 19th

Lee Yong-ho, Member of the People Power Party / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Rep. Yong-ho Lee of the People Power Party officially declared his candidacy for the next floor leader, becoming the first among the candidates to do so. The floor leader election scheduled for the 19th will be held as a competitive election rather than by acclamation. With Rep. Lee's declaration, other candidates are also expected to officially announce their candidacies one after another.

On the 15th, Rep. Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office to officially announce his candidacy for floor leader. He emphasized, "Through party unity, I will restore public trust and create an atmosphere where each lawmaker can carry out and be evaluated for their legislative activities as constitutional institutions without hesitation," adding, "I will support the success of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration through smooth communication with the government and the presidential office and convey public opinion frankly."

Rep. Lee, a two-term lawmaker, represents the Namwon·Imsil·Sunchang district in Jeonbuk and joined the People Power Party during the last presidential election.

With a candidate entering the race, the proposal to endorse Rep. Joo Ho-young has become irrelevant. Some within the party had advocated for Joo's acclamation, but it is reported that Rep. Joo has stated he will not run if a competitive election is held. A representative from Rep. Joo's side said, "Having served as the emergency committee chairman and bearing the associated responsibilities, it is burdensome to run for floor leader," adding, "Unless there is a request like before when I was emergency committee chairman, it is difficult to take the forefront."

Rep. Dae-chul Park, who was listed as a floor leader candidate, was also weighing his candidacy but is expected to announce his run soon now that the election will be competitive. On the same day, Rep. Park said on the radio, "I think it is time to show a new image and wear new clothes," adding, "That means not only people but also mindsets and policies need to wear new clothes. To wear new clothes, you have to throw off the old ones."

Rep. Hak-yong Kim, who has been steadily preparing to run for floor leader, is also expected to confirm his candidacy.

On the other hand, Rep. Sang-hyun Yoon, a four-term lawmaker, announced he will not run. In a phone call that day, Rep. Yoon said, "As the person who opened the call for Rep. Kwon Seong-dong's decision, it is not appropriate for me to step forward politically," explaining his stance. Rep. Yoon had opposed amending the party constitution and regulations to launch a new emergency committee and pointed out, "We need to elect a new floor leader to reconcile the president and former party leader Lee Jun-seok," adding, "Even if close aides and influential figures feel wronged, they must accept it as fate and temporarily step back from the frontline."

Instead, Rep. Yoon argued that the floor leader election should be postponed. On his Facebook, he wrote, "It is appropriate to hold the election after the court's ruling on the injunction application," adding, "If the injunction is granted again, the new floor leader will have to act as the party leader until the party convention. We must first break free from the injunction cycle and then resolve the confusion through politics."

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