Lee Jun-seok and Geum Tae-seop Matchmaking(?) Arranged by Kim Jong-in... "The Two Have No Choice but to Be Together"

Kim Jong-in Expresses Expectations After Private Meeting with Lee-Geum
"Both Parties Lack Will and Ability to Solve Immediate Issues"
Skeptical About Alliance with Democratic Party's Silent Faction

"Since there is nothing to do separately, you can think of this meeting as an intention to collaborate once and move forward as one."

Former People Power Party Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in attributed this meaning to the private meeting between former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok and former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop on the 10th. After the lunch with Lee and Geum, Kim met with reporters in front of his office and introduced, "Because those people say they want to create a new political force, the two share the same direction."

When asked by reporters whether the two seemed to be on the same page, Kim replied, "There doesn't seem to be much disagreement." Regarding the background of the lunch arrangement, Kim explained, "I know both of them well, and since they wanted to meet each other, I just arranged the place." On the private nature of the meeting, he retorted, "You should only disclose it once a proper conclusion is reached; what is there to reveal beforehand?" About the possibility of their alliance, he expressed hope, saying, "From my perspective, regardless of whether they feel together or not, I think they have no choice but to work together," adding, "Those people are all reasonable."

Former People Power Party Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in is speaking at the "Reflection and Exploration for a Different Future Forum" held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on April 18. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

However, concerning his own role, Kim said, "If their opinions align, they will work together," and added, "I don't particularly want to join that right now."

He expressed the belief that a third force can gain strength amid the limitations of the existing two-party system. Kim stated, "In fact, the two major parties (People Power Party and Democratic Party) seem neither willing nor capable of solving the problems our country faces," criticizing, "They just run politics based on their own whims, like 'Will this possibly increase support?' or 'Will this help in the election?'"

Kim harshly criticized the proposals from the Innovation Committee, saying, "We need to think coldly about whether the proposals from the Innovation Committee are realistically appropriate," and added, "How much interest do the people have? In my view, not much." Regarding the People Power Party's claim about the mega-Seoul plan centered on incorporating Gimpo into Seoul, he criticized, "They say Gimpo should be merged into Seoul, but that has nothing to do with the daily lives of the people."

What draws attention is his lukewarm evaluation about whether the so-called Lee Jun-seok new party would merge with the Democratic Party's innovation faction or the non-Lee Jae-myung (Bi-Myung) faction. Kim said, "The Bi-Myung faction goes wherever they need to go," and added, "They think it will be difficult to get nominations within the Democratic Party, so to survive politically, they try to do something. If nominations are guaranteed, they would be in either the Bi-Myung faction or the Democratic Party."

He also questioned the political common sense that assumed the participation of incumbent lawmakers due to preparations for the general election and party symbols. Kim said, "The reason third parties failed in the past is that people who lost nominations gathered to form a party, so it couldn't succeed," and added, "It probably won't succeed."

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