Judging that "if Lee Jun-seok does not leave the party, he will be given a nomination" using 'Chinyun' influence

KBS 'Joo Jin-woo Live' Interview
On 'Yoo Seung-min Nomination' Question: "I Don't Know"

Lee Yong, a member of the People Power Party and part of the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction, gave a positive outlook on whether former leader Lee Jun-seok will receive party nomination in next year's general election.

In an interview on KBS Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live' on the 19th, Lee said, "Unless former leader Lee himself leaves the party, I believe he will be given a chance," adding, "I think he will be nominated." However, he was reserved about former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min's nomination, saying, "I don't know about that."

He stated, "In any case, we must win in the metropolitan area," and added, "President Yoon Seok-yeol said in last year's New Year's interview that if we do not win the general election next year, he would become a figurehead president."

Lee Yong, member of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, "Former leader Lee says 'the president must change,' but now (Lee) should rather show himself changing first," and "The president had a dinner with the Integration Committee two days ago, had lunch with party leadership, and said 'the people are right.' I see these as signs that the president is also at a point of change," he said.

Lee particularly criticized former leader Lee's remark that the 'Kim Ki-hyun 2nd term system,' which was launched after the by-election defeat of the Gangseo District Office chief, "won't last even two weeks," saying, "(Former leader Lee) seems to be trying to turn a crisis into a bigger crisis." He added, "If you have affection for the party, you should criticize where necessary, but in times of crisis, unity and solidarity among each other are needed."

Regarding the rumors of a new party involving former leader Lee and former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, he said, "I don't think the new party rumors are groundless." He continued, "Even if they leave the party, they must bring along our support base," and predicted, "By December, they will try to secure as much support as possible, and if they judge 'this is enough for us to form a new party,' they will do so. If no support base consolidates by then, I believe the new party will fail."

On the same day, Lee also urged President Yoon to show "a softer side." Lee said, "The president tends to charge forward without retreating no matter the obstacles if he believes something is right, which was a worrying aspect," adding, "In politics, you need to have a softer side like a reed."

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