'Songpa Directive Theory' Off-Court Dispute... Lee Jun-seok vs Bae Hyun-jin, How Did Their 'Bad Blood' Begin?

Lee Jun-seok "I never said 'sorry'"
Bae Hyun-jin "Apology is sincere"
Intensified disputes at the end of the party convention

The rift between former People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok and lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin is deepening. Lee and Bae frequently clashed even in the previous leadership, and during the recent March 8 party convention, old grudges resurfaced.

According to political circles on the 7th, the conflict began with a social network service (SNS) post by Bae on the 4th. Bae posted on her Facebook, sharing a text message distributed to party members of the Songpa-eul district party committee that read, "To win the general election in Seoul Songpa-eul, we must elect Heo Eun-ah and Kim Yong-tae as Supreme Council members." She refuted this by stating, "This message was not sent by our party committee." Bae's constituency is Seoul Songpa-eul.

The message, apparently sent by the Songpa-eul party committee, is said to have come from the camps of Supreme Council candidates Heo Eun-ah and Kim Yong-tae, who are considered close to Lee. Similar messages were also sent to party members in other districts under the names of party committees in Seocho, Dongjak, and Yangcheon Gap in Seoul, as well as Jung District in Busan.

The PPP Central Party Election Commission immediately issued a 'verbal warning,' stating that the message could be mistaken as the party committee endorsing a particular candidate. However, similar messages encouraging support for candidates impersonating party committees were also sent by candidates Kim Jae-won and Kim Byung-min. Lee's camp explained, "It was just one of the election campaigns, no different from saying 'To redevelop OO area, you must elect Supreme Council member OOO,'" but the Election Commission warned all candidates.

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is seen pushing away the hand of Supreme Council member Bae Hyun-jin, who offered a handshake while attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The Songpa party committee impersonation message, which seemed to have been settled with the Election Commission's warning, was brought up again on the 6th when Bae revealed Lee's 'secret apology' on her Facebook. Bae wrote that after Lee mentioned the 'Songpa directive theory' on his Facebook on the 12th of last month, "The next day, on the 13th, at a joint speech event in Jeju, Lee quietly muttered 'I'm sorry' to my office secretary and then ran away."

At that time, Lee posted on Facebook introducing text messages encouraging dispersed voting in Songpa Gap, Eul, and Byeong districts for pro-Yoon faction candidates in the main round of the party convention, saying, "So-called Yoon core faction candidates are reportedly sending such messages," and added, "If you vote dispersedly, I’d actually be grateful, you fools." Bae interpreted this as an apology from Lee, saying, "He must have been so embarrassed to act that way."

Lee denied apologizing. He immediately posted on Facebook, "There is nothing to apologize for," and "Why should I apologize for the directive voting in the Songpa-eul group chat in the first place?" On the same day, Bae warned, "Apologize clearly and sincerely, even if it’s embarrassing. Please stop turning the party convention into a playground where children play in the dirt. I will no longer tolerate reckless mentions and pranks involving our party committee."

Furthermore, Lee linked an article about the Garosero Research Institute, which he sued for defamation over allegations of sexual bribery but was dismissed by the police, and wrote, "The police have concluded that the sexual bribery allegations are true," adding, "Now the prosecution will soon summon Lee Jun-seok to investigate his false accusation case against Garosero. Whether in Cheonhadong or Yongin, this is not the time to meddle in the party convention."

Baek Hyun-jin, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, is showing the agreement document on the distribution of the standing committee chairs for the first half of the 21st National Assembly, agreed upon by the floor leaders of both ruling and opposition parties, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Lee’s camp is considering legal action regarding Bae’s mention of an apology.

The conflict between the two first became public in June last year. At that time, Bae, who was a Supreme Council member of the PPP, was seen being snubbed when she extended her hand for a handshake to Lee, the party leader, just before a Supreme Council meeting, sparking curiosity about the 'handshake passing' incident. Later, Bae expressed dissatisfaction related to Lee’s sexual bribery allegations and even skipped the Supreme Council meeting. She said at the time, "It’s embarrassing to attend the meeting together." Lee also expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "Bae acts differently in front of the camera and behind it."

Inside and outside the party, it is believed that the relationship between Lee and Bae soured during the establishment of the 'Innovation Committee' that Lee pushed for while party leader. Right after the June 1 local elections last year, Lee insisted on forming the Innovation Committee before the Democratic Party and mentioned reforming nominations, including running in difficult districts for those with three or more terms, which Bae opposed. Since Bae is part of the pro-Yoon faction, this appeared to be an attempt to check Lee, who was at odds with President Yoon Seok-youl, marking a fierce internal party conflict.

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