Yesterday's Enemy, Today's Ally?… Geum Tae-seop's Comment on Ryu Ho-jeong and Lee Jun-seok's Two-Shot

Leadership Fully Mobilized at Lee Jun-seok's Election Office Opening
Lee and Candidate Ryu Foster Unity at This Opening Ceremony

A moment was captured showing Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, and Ryu Ho-jeong, the Reform New Party candidate for Seongnam Bundang-gap, joining hands despite previous conflicts over gender issues and other disagreements. Geum Tae-seop, a Supreme Council member of the Reform New Party, shared on his social networking service (SNS) on the 17th, "If I had to pick a highlight from today's opening ceremony of Lee Jun-seok's preliminary candidate campaign office in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, wouldn't it be this moment? haha," along with a photo of Lee and Ryu. In the photo, Lee and Ryu are standing side by side at the campaign office opening ceremony, smiling together and holding hands.

Reform New Party leader Lee Jun-seok is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the opening ceremony of the election office in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on the 17th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Lee, formerly of the People Power Party, and Ryu, formerly of the Justice Party, have shown political differences until now. After Ryu joined the Reform New Party, Lee posted on his SNS, drawing a line by saying, "At this stage, it will be difficult for former lawmaker Ryu to establish herself as a mainstream figure or thought leader within the Reform New Party." Geum, who posted the photo of the two holding hands, added hashtags such as 'Politics that respects each other despite differences in thought' and 'Secretly pushed each other when taking the photo lol.' This emphasized the harmony being built between Lee and Ryu.

At Lee's campaign office opening ceremony that day in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, the leadership team was fully present, including Kim Jong-in, Chair of the Nomination Management Committee; Gu Hyuk-mo, General Head of the Election Campaign Headquarters; Yang Hyang-ja (Yongin-gap), Floor Leader; Cho Eung-cheon (Namyangju-gap), Supreme Council member; Geum Tae-seop (Seoul Jongno), Supreme Council member; Kim Yong-nam, Chair of the Policy Committee; Kim Cheol-geun, Secretary-General; Lee Won-wook (Hwaseong Jeong), Assemblyman; Yang Jeong-sook, Assemblywoman; and former Assemblywoman Ryu Ho-jeong (Seongnam Bundang-gap).

At the opening ceremony of his campaign office in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Representative Lee said, "I will engage in politics that considers the future of the Republic of Korea beyond conservatism and progressivism," adding, "The endless competition between the two major parties no longer holds meaning." He continued, "The Reform New Party gathered here has experienced enough bitterness in two-party politics and has come together for a new attempt," emphasizing, "We know this path has a higher possibility of failure than success and will be more challenging than smooth, but we will not waver and will follow our path."
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the opening ceremony of his campaign office in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, Lee said, "We will pursue politics that think about the future of the Republic of Korea beyond conservative and progressive divides," adding, "The endless competition between the two major parties no longer has meaning." He continued, "The Reform New Party gathered here has experienced enough bitterness from two-party politics and came together for a new attempt. We know this path has a higher chance of failure than success and will be rough rather than smooth, but we will not waver and will follow our path."

In his congratulatory speech, Kim Jong-in, Chair of the Nomination Management Committee, said, "When I first met Lee, who was 26 years old in 2011, I felt he had remarkable insight into politics. I am 85 years old this year, an age to do nothing and rest, but seeing Lee struggling in political activities, I felt sorry and decided to help, so I came out like this."

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