[Viewpoint] President Yoon Suk-yeol and the 'Lee Jun-seok New Party'

The fact that things are different in the morning and different in the evening is one aspect of politics. Yesterday's enemy becomes today's ally. Today's ally can become tomorrow's enemy. There is no need to look far. The relationship between President Yoon Seok-yeol and former leader Lee Jun-seok is like that. Going a bit further back, the DJP coalition between former President Kim Dae-jung (DJ) and former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil (JP) is symbolic. Moreover, what can be said about politicians' words? They are not fixed. When the situation changes, the words change too. Therefore, it is more important to read the context of the words rather than the words themselves.

There is a lot of speculation about Lee Jun-seok, the former leader of the People Power Party, launching a new party.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Recently, the topic that has generated the most talk in political circles is the ‘Lee Jun-seok new party.’ The atmosphere is that its launch is a foregone conclusion. Various analyses and speculations are pouring out, such as who will join, which key target regions are, and which side?ruling or opposition?will be more affected. Former leader Lee Jun-seok has also been making remarks related to the new party through media interviews, saying, “We have to compete in Yeongnam.” He is expanding the scope of the situation to the fullest. In political news, mentions of people who have contacted him or those who might contact him are circulating.

Will former leader Lee establish a new party? It is clear that he strongly signals his intention to found one. However, showing signs of founding a party and actually founding one are different matters. When asked one of Lee’s closest aides, the answer was, “Please see it as a measure to prepare for all possible scenarios.” It was said that while it is certainly one option, it is not a predetermined path. It can change depending on the situation. For Lee, founding a party is the ‘last option’ and something he wants to avoid. It is clear that it is not something he is pursuing passionately or joyfully. Paradoxically, this lowers the likelihood of the party actually being founded. There are still several variables before it reaches the point of founding a party.

When I met former leader Lee about a month ago, he had many frustrations. He confided, “I am thinking about how to prevent bad people from succeeding.” The ‘bad people’ he referred to are the so-called ‘Yoon core group,’ considered key figures in the current government. In this regard, former leader Lee and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo were in agreement. On the 8th, Mayor Hong, who met People Power Party Innovation Chairman In Yo-han, said, “Please clean up the forces that are flattering the president.” He also said, “The president is someone who does not know scheming.” Although Lee’s remark that “(the president) is a person without credit capital” seems different on the surface, the context is the same. It is criticism of the president and a call to change the government’s policy direction.

The current ‘Lee Jun-seok new party’ lacks a vision. Those close to him say, “There is more than enough justification.” However, it is difficult to feel enthusiasm for the party’s founding among ordinary citizens. The best option for former leader Lee is to remain within the People Power Party, bring about changes in the president’s policy direction and personnel reshuffle, and based on that, enter the National Assembly next year. If he judges this to be impossible (he sees the end of December as the deadline), he will proceed with founding a party. Therefore, the person who determines the birth of the ‘Lee Jun-seok new party’ is not Lee himself but President Yoon Seok-yeol. For President Yoon, next year’s general election is a ‘second presidential election.’ What choice President Yoon must make is obvious.

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