Cheon A-yong Also Joining Lee Jun-seok's New Party?..."Decision Not Yet Made"

Cheon Ha-ram "Inappropriate to speak in the current situation"
Heo Eun-ah "Yongsan should answer the issue"
Kim Yong-tae "No decision made on party founding"
Ha Tae-kyung "New party founding plan is not thorough"

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, who is preparing to launch a new party, met with his close associates known as 'Cheon-A-Yongin' (Cheon Ha-ram, Suncheon Gap Party Committee Chairman; Heo Eun-ah, Member of the National Assembly; Kim Yong-tae, former Youth Supreme Council member; Lee Gi-in, Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly member) to share the 'New Party Launch Action Plan,' leading to increased analysis that Lee's possibility of founding a new party has grown. However, his close associates are taking a cautious stance on joining the new party, stating that "changes in the Presidential Office and the party come first."

Cheon Ha-ram, Suncheon Gap Party Committee Chairman and one of the 'Cheon-A-Yongin,' said on the 14th on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Since the new party launch is still a hypothetical situation, we cannot provide an answer at this time," adding, "the party launch has not yet been formalized, so it seems inappropriate to comment on it in the current situation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 12th, Lee met with the 'Cheon-A-Yongin' group to share the new party launch action plan. Lee also revealed that he shared a list of current People Power Party lawmakers interested in the new party, which has further strengthened the possibility of the new party's establishment. Lee has set the end of next month as the deadline for launching the new party.

However, Chairman Cheon expressed caution about joining, saying, "Launching a new party means leaving the current party, and since it involves leaving, we must consider this very carefully." He added, "I cannot yet say whether I will participate in the new party, but I fully sympathize with Lee's awareness of the problem that fundamental changes in the party and the president are necessary; otherwise, our conservative camp could face mutual destruction."

Member of the National Assembly Heo Eun-ah also said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "Many people ask me if I will join Lee Jun-seok's new party, but I think this question is not one that Lee should be asking me right now. I hope reporters keep asking Yongsan persistently," adding, "I have not made any decision yet, but I will follow the will of the people of the nation." She refrained from commenting on joining.

Former Youth Supreme Council member Kim Yong-tae also said on CBS Radio the previous day, "Regarding the new party, I am personally the dove (moderate) among the group of five. There are too many hawks (hardliners), and I was someone who had very negative thoughts about the new party launch," adding, "I will consider the thoughts that Lee has. I am not viewing the new party launch negatively only; I will think about it with an open mind, but I have not decided to launch a new party at all. So there is no need for excessive interpretation."

Although Lee is pushing for the new party launch, there are criticisms that the plan is not meticulous. People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "(The new party) plan is not very meticulous. So even the plan to run in Daegu was just a hopeful wish," adding, "Lee is, if anything, a model like the 'Pro-Park Alliance.' Because there is a lack of innovative energy within our party, he plans to create energy outside the party and then come back as a comeback scenario."

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