Cho Eung-cheon "Lee Jun-seok Joining New Party? Currently No Possibility"

It has been reported that former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, who is reportedly pushing for a new party, met with Lee Sang-min, a representative figure of the Non-Myeong (非明) faction and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. This has drawn attention to the possibility of Non-Myeong faction members joining the new party, but Non-Myeong faction member and Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon dismissed this, saying, "At present, there is no possibility."

On the 7th, in response to a question from the host on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal' asking whether the possibility of an 'Lee Jun-seok new party' was open, Rep. Cho replied, "At present, (it is not the case)."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the mention of the possibility of Non-Myeong faction members joining Lee Jun-seok's new party following the meeting between the former leader and Rep. Lee, Cho said, "No matter how much (politics) is a living thing, the gap between former leader Lee and the Non-Myeong faction is very wide," adding, "That does not seem like a very realistic option."

On the destructive power of the 'Lee Jun-seok new party,' he evaluated, "The only fact known now is that former leader Lee Jun-seok is likely to leave the party and form a new one; nothing else is known about who will join or what the party's line and vision will be," adding, "It will depend on that."

He continued, "For example, whether the thought is that the president and the ruling party are going down the wrong path, so they want to judge them and create a proper party to replace the People Power Party, or whether it is unclear if the intention is to oppose the hostile symbiotic relationship and hegemonism between the Democratic Party and People Power Party, and the undemocratic party operations that have distorted Korean politics. In other words, whether they want to create a third party that encompasses forces opposing two-party politics and hegemonism is unclear."

Some in political circles analyze that President Yoon Seok-yeol might offer the position of emergency committee chairman or grant nomination authority to prevent the 'Lee Jun-seok new party.' Regarding this, Rep. Cho said, "There were several twists and turns during the presidential election process, and the mainstream of the People Power Party described it as 'running away from home.' I think he ran away twice or three times. I do not think that simply offering a position or an important role will make former leader Lee resolve everything, laugh it off, and return to take that role."

He added, "If he is fully reinstated before being ousted from the leadership position, the situation would be somewhat different," adding, "Appropriate punishment or holding accountable many people involved in that process would probably be included, but that does not seem possible now."

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