Choi Kyung-hwan, Lee Jun-seok and Other Ruling Party Young Politicians Dinner Meeting: "We Must Unite Together"

Kim Yong-tae, Lee Gi-in, and Koo Hyuk-mo Present Together

Choi Kyung-hwan, the leader of the pro-Park faction and former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, recently met with young politicians including former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok and emphasized that "all conservatives must unite for victory in next year's general election."

According to political circles on the 2nd, Choi held a dinner meeting for about two and a half hours with former leader Lee on the 30th of last month at a restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul. Young party politicians such as former Youth Supreme Council member Kim Yong-tae, Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly member Lee Ki-in, and former People Power Party Innovation Committee member Koo Hyuk-mo also attended. It is reported that this meeting was arranged after Choi requested Lee to create an opportunity to communicate with young politicians within the party.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, Choi referred to President Yoon's narrow victory by a margin of 0.73 percentage points in the last presidential election and emphasized that "for victory in next year's general election, people who agree with conservative values such as Lee Jun-seok, Yoo Seung-min, Na Kyung-won, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Park Geun-hye must come together."

Furthermore, Choi mentioned former British Prime Minister David Cameron, who became the leader of the Conservative Party in his 30s, to Lee and offered advice related to next year's general election. He also reportedly urged young politicians to "speak out boldly and rightly within the party as young politicians."

Regarding speculation in political circles about Choi running for the Gyeongsan district in North Gyeongsang Province in next year's general election, an attendee said Choi responded, "This is not a matter to decide now." At the dinner, he reportedly said, "Whether I run or not will be decided later, but ultimately, it is important that we all go together and win together."

Choi, who served as the floor leader of the Saenuri Party (now People Power Party) and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs during the Park Geun-hye administration, was a four-term National Assembly member representing Gyeongsan. However, he was sentenced to prison for receiving National Intelligence Service special activity funds as bribes and was incarcerated. He was pardoned and reinstated at the end of last year through a New Year's special pardon.

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