'Destined to Be Together' Geum Tae-seop and Lee Jun-seok, Still Distant... Will They Join a New Party?

Geum Tae-seop "I plan to keep meeting from now on"
Lee Jun-seok "Geum Tae-seop is smart... New party, with people who understand each other"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who is promoting a third-party new political party, and former leader Lee Jun-seok, known to be pushing for a new party centered around the Yeongnam region, met last week, but no concrete discussions regarding the new party have yet taken place. Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, who arranged the meeting between the two, expressed optimism, saying, "Minor issues can simply be overcome."

On the 13th, former lawmaker Geum said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's Political Show,' "Since it was our first meeting and we talked about various things, I don't think it's appropriate to go into every detail, but I do intend to keep meeting," and described Lee as "someone who can engage in dialogue."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This was Geum's first response since his meeting with Lee on the 10th. Former emergency committee chairman Kim gave a positive evaluation, saying, "The two share the same goals," and "They have no choice but to work together." Lee also stated on CBS's YouTube broadcast that "the possibility of a political coalition has been left open, and I have not seen any disagreements serious enough to deny it."

However, when asked by the host whether they would work together, Lee did not give a straightforward answer. Geum said, "We need to slowly discuss how to decide and what to do," adding, "Many people are saying that the new party or Korean politics need to change. If these people can unite their strength, it can succeed; otherwise, it will be difficult."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee also has not expressed a definitive position. On SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' he gave a cold assessment of Geum's goal of a "proper third party that breaks the mold of factional politics," saying, "It sounds right but is very grandiose and clich?d. Isn't it the same thing that people who have tried to form a third party have said so far?"

When asked whether he had formed a consensus with Geum, Lee gave a reserved response, saying, "Geum is known as a very smart person, but regarding this direction, if I were to form a new party this time, I would want to work with people I can communicate with."

He added, "I recognize that Geum is logical and someone with whom reasonable dialogue is possible," but also said, "What we need to consider is that most of the people acting strangely in the People Power Party are not stupid, but if their hearts are misguided, they behave that way."

There is considerable skepticism in political circles about the new party these two are promoting. Former Blue House political secretary Lee Jung-hyun said on KBS's 'Choi Kang Sisa' on the same day, "Is it Lee Jun-seok's new party, Choi Jae-sung's new party, Kim Jong-in's new party, Yoo Seung-min's new party, or Geum Tae-seop's new party? Are all these people just forming their own parties, or are they all joining under former leader Lee? That needs to be clarified first," expressing concern that "it could become a strange group with only the heads of snakes gathered and no dragon tails."

Without a clear leader, the 'third-party big tent' could easily become fragmented. However, former emergency committee chairman Kim said in response to a question about who should be the center between Lee and Geum, "There doesn't need to be only one pillar. If there are two strong pillars, it can actually gain more strength."

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