Justice Party Keeps Door Open for 'Geum Tae-seop New Party' Alliance... But Geum Tae-seop Shows 'No Interest'

Ahead of next year's general election, the Justice Party, which has been actively developing the concept of an 'electoral coalition party,' announced that it would include 'Saeroun Seontaek' led by former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop as a coalition partner. However, Geum himself drew a line, stating he has 'no interest' in forming an alliance with the Justice Party.

On the 16th, on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' former lawmaker Geum said, "When Representative Lee Jeong-mi was in charge, we said we couldn't work together because our life trajectories were different. Now, there are people inside trying to form a coalition, and they say they will work together, but they discuss that among themselves. I have little interest," expressing his stance.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Jun-woo, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the Justice Party leading the 'electoral coalition party' initiative, opened the possibility on his first day in office the day before, saying, "'Saeroun Seontaek' has members within the party who are considering it, so we can keep the door open." Unlike the Justice Party under Lee Jeong-mi's leadership, this indicates an openness to forming an alliance with Saeroun Seontaek as well. However, former lawmaker Geum holds the view that the Justice Party bears responsibility for acting as the 'Democratic Party's second squad.'

He criticized, "Those currently in politics all bear responsibility for the current political situation. The Justice Party, especially after the Cho Kuk incident, acted as the Democratic Party's second squad on issues like the Corruption Investigation Office and election law, leading to this state," adding, "While the public is very disappointed with both the People Power Party and the Democratic Party, they don't think the Justice Party should succeed."

He continued, "We need to abandon that and try working together from the grassroots level. It can't be done by the Justice Party alone, but it can't be done without the Justice Party either. It's hard to proceed with the mindset that it won't work without the Justice Party," and said, "What meaning does the Justice Party have now? That's how I think."

Former lawmaker Geum hinted at forming alliances with Representative Yang Hyang-ja, who leads 'People's Hope,' former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, and the non-mainstream faction of the Democratic Party. He said, "I spoke with Representative Yang just before coming on air. Yang, myself, former leader Lee, and some members of the Democratic Party have slightly different views, but we are all making concessions and having conversations. This time, we must unite and try to change something for it to succeed," adding, "(Including the five from the non-mainstream faction) I am talking with many people."

However, some speculate about the possibility of former leader Lee Jun-seok, who is likely to ally with Geum, returning to the People Power Party. On the same day, People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung said on KBS's 'Special 1 Radio Today,' "I am continuously helping former leader Lee, both behind the scenes and publicly, so he can play a role in the party. I believe the possibility of him staying in our party is much higher," adding, "(His remarks) are always strong, but if he leaves, it would be a separate matter. If the conservatives split, our party would suffer a big blow, but Lee Jun-seok's new party would also take a significant hit."

Regarding this, former lawmaker Geum responded skeptically, saying, "I don't think there's much chance of a U-turn. Former leader Lee was the immediate past leader of the People Power Party and surely has a lot of affection for the party and hopes to fix and improve it, but right now, I think it's simply impossible."

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