Is Lee Jun-seok Playing Hard to Get with the Ruling Party? ... Responds "Not Interested" to Kim Tae-woo's Support Request

Yoon Sang-hyun "Lee Jun-seok, Please Generously Help Kim Tae-woo"
Lee Jun-seok "If You Have Shame, You Shouldn't Do That"

Former People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok revealed that Kim Tae-woo, the PPP candidate for the Gangseo District Mayor by-election, requested election support from his close associates. In an interview with SBS Radio on the 6th, Lee said, "It seems that there was a preliminary inquiry from Kim's side through my close aide Kim Cheol-geun (former party leader's political affairs secretary)."

This Gangseo District Mayor by-election is a crucial contest in which both ruling and opposition parties are putting everything on the line, serving as a prelude to next year's general election. However, Lee firmly stated that he has no intention of helping Kim. Lee recalled, "Even when I led as party leader during the presidential and local elections, later on, I heard comments like, 'What was that all about?' or 'We won, but because of Lee Jun-seok, the victory was smaller than expected.'"

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

He also expressed his refusal to support the election on Facebook the day before, saying, "Being stabbed in the back by someone you helped, or being deceived by a candidate who practices 'yangduguyuk' (a Korean idiom meaning 'a show of loyalty but actual betrayal'), once each is enough." Lee claimed that Kim continuously released content defaming him on his YouTube channel, adding, "If he had any shame, he wouldn't have had to ask for help."

During his tenure as party leader, Lee clashed with President Yoon Suk-yeol and the pro-Yoon faction. In July last year, he was suspended from party membership for six months due to a violation of dignity related to allegations of sexual misconduct and evidence tampering. Subsequently, at a press conference, he used terms like 'yangduguyuk,' which led to an additional one-year suspension and effectively his removal from the leadership position.

However, as next year's general election approaches, there have been calls within the ruling party to embrace Lee again, citing his support among the 20s and 30s age groups and moderate voters. For the same reason, there have been demands for Lee to lend his support to Kim's campaign in this by-election.

PPP lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said in an MBC Radio interview, "Lee Jun-seok is truly a valuable asset to our party," adding, "Although he stepped down amid various controversies last year, politics is about stepping back when it's time to do so, and making efforts and moving forward together when necessary. We ask Lee to generously show a self-sacrificing attitude for the party this time."

However, Lee dismissed the reported support request from Kim's side, saying, "I wasn't interested, so I didn't even ask what the exact request was," and added, "Since the request might have been just a preliminary inquiry, I decided not to pay attention to it."

Some view Kim's support request in connection with next year's general election. Lee has expressed his intention to run multiple times. However, given his clashes with President Yoon, it is uncertain whether the party will grant him a nomination. Nonetheless, there is speculation that Lee might receive the nomination as the party's goals of expanding its base and winning in the metropolitan area align with Lee's personal interest in entering the National Assembly.

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