Lee Jun-seok "No Plans for New Party... Expel Rebels and Enter with Bloodshed"

"Will Not Withdraw Candidate in Gangseo-gu By-election"
Regarding the 'No Boarding Theory,' "It Is Already Sinking"

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok stated that he has no plans to form a new party with next year's general election in mind, adding, "All my attention is focused on driving out the rebels," and said, "It's okay to enter with bloodshed."

Lee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' on the 21st and said, "I will use this expression: if you feel like you're going to die, you do everything, everyone does," expressing his stance.

He also claimed, "The by-election in Gangseo District, Seoul, scheduled for October 11, is heating up, and the party will probably be in chaos trying not to field a candidate," adding, "Because a similar result is expected."

Lee said, "When I started politics as an emergency committee member in 2011, after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon resigned, Na Kyung-won lost to Mayor Park Won-soon in the October 26 by-election. At that time, conservatives said, 'Hey, if this continues, we'll be crushed in the general election six months later,' and they ousted the then intact leader Hong Joon-pyo," adding, "So the Park Geun-hye emergency committee was established, and that's when I started politics. One interesting thing is that it coincidentally happened around the same time, in October."

Former Lee Jun-seok, People Power Party leader. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He warned, "Because I saw the case of Yoo Seung-min, I will respond proactively. If I see any signs of messing around in the nominations, I will respond proactively."

Lee said, "Before the 2016 20th general election, I often said that we had to go with Yoo Seung-min and acknowledge his position to win, especially in the metropolitan area," and explained, "But then a meta misconception occurred when Ahn Cheol-soo suddenly founded the People's Party, spreading optimism in the conservative camp, saying, 'Hey, we will get 180 seats now.' Even in a divided state between the Democratic Party and the People's Party, the People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the metropolitan area."

Regarding Secretary-General Lee Cheol-gyu's 'no boarding theory,' he responded, "I was also the captain until recently," adding, "There were many people trying to make holes in my ship at that time."

Lee said, "When I was driving, those who came from behind and broke the ship are now driving the ship, but from my perspective, it is already sinking," adding, "They don't realize that the ship is flooding because of what they did, and instead keep saying someone is sabotaging. If this Secretary-General says nothing, probably nothing will happen."

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