The 'Third Zone' Launched... Lee Jun-seok Draws the Line, Yoo Seung-min Remains Quiet

Amid growing disappointment with the two major parties leading to a record high in the 'politically unaffiliated' demographic, centrist politicians including former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop have come together to launch a 'third zone' roughly a year ahead of the general election. However, the lack of a presidential candidate-level figure as a rallying point is seen as a weakness. Former party leader Lee Jun-seok, who was expected to open the 'third zone' alongside them, has distanced himself, and former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min has also shown little response.

On the evening of the 19th, former lawmaker Geum urged former leader Lee on CBS's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Show,' saying, "What is the meaning of suppressing the People's Power rebels and gaining a few more seats?" as a call to join the third zone. This was in response to Lee's earlier remarks on Gyeongnam MBC's 'Yoon Dong-hyun's Good Morning,' where he said, "I have never considered forming a new party. I only want the People's Power to normalize as soon as possible and quickly suppress the rebels who have lost their minds," thereby drawing a line on the possibility of joining a new party.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 18th, former lawmaker Geum held the 'Reflection and Exploration Forum for a Different Future' at the National Assembly with former People's Power emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in and others, hinting at the formation of a new third zone party aiming for '30 seats in the metropolitan area.' The goal is to break the existing two-party structure. He said, "To break this structure, we must create a new party. We must create a new platform. I believe many people will reach that conclusion," urging participation from current and former politicians.

However, no presidential candidate-level politician has yet emerged to join the third zone led by former lawmaker Geum. Both former leader Lee, who is mentioned as a possible founder of a new party, and former lawmaker Yoo remain silent. On the 18th, Yoo shared posts and broadcast schedules criticizing former President Moon Jae-in and President Yoon Suk-yeol on social media but made no mention of the third zone.

Considering that former leader Lee has repeatedly stated in the past that he has no intention of forming a new party, it is highly likely he will maintain distance from the 'Geum Tae-seop party' for the time being. Since last year's provisional injunction phase through this year's People's Power party convention, several politicians including former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won hinted at the possibility of an 'Lee Jun-seok party,' but on the 8th, Lee said on CBS's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Show' regarding the possibility of running as an independent or forming a new party, "I have never thought about any of that first."

This underscores how challenging it is to establish a third zone party. Although there have been many voices criticizing the two major parties, few political forces have achieved tangible results. While there is justification, they are inferior in all aspects including organizational strength and financial resources. Even the People’s Party, which was considered relatively successful, disappeared last year after merging with the People's Power. Both former leader Lee and former lawmaker Yoo have experience in attempting to form new parties but failed. Announcer Park Jae-hong also hinted, "Former lawmaker Yoo recently appeared on our show and said, 'It was very cold and like a wilderness when we formed the new party.'"

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs,' quoting Professor Kang Jun-man, "Good people come because they see some identity, brand, or future potential of a group," and pointed out, "One of the seven reasons why centrists fail is 'promissory notes rather than cash.' Because the risk is high, they cannot gather well."

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