Hong Jun-pyo on Conflict Between Lee Jun-seok and Cho Soo-jin: "Because They Disregard the Party Leader"

Hong Joon-pyo, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As the conflict between Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Cho Soo-jin, the party's Supreme Council member and spokesperson for the Central Election Countermeasures Committee, continues, on the 20th, fellow party member Hong Joon-pyo criticized Cho Soo-jin.

On that day, in the Q&A corner called 'Cheongmun Hongdap' (Youth asks, Hong Joon-pyo answers) on the online platform 'Youth's Dream' operated by Hong, a netizen asked, "Both Supreme Council members Kim Jae-won and Cho Soo-jin are constantly causing noise. Is this disrespect towards the young leader Lee?" The netizen further pointed out, "At times like this, the People Power Party seems to be ignored by the 2040 young generation and is likely to revert to being an old-fashioned party."

In response, Hong said, "Because they are looking down on the party leader." Another netizen asked, "What should be done about Supreme Council member Cho?" and said, "Recently, there was a feeling that the media management regarding Kim Geon-hee's private life was completely lacking, and Cho Soo-jin, who is the spokesperson responsible for managing reporters, circulated a video mocking the leader Lee to reporters, and a reporter who received the video reportedly reported it to the leader."

The netizen continued, "At a time when we are busy fighting the Democratic Party, is there no way for the election committee or the party to take action against someone who repeatedly behaves like this out of personal feelings rather than policy disagreements?" To this, Hong replied, "Maybe it's time to quit."

Meanwhile, when a netizen said, "It seems the People Power Party's time is up," and asked, "If Hong were a presidential candidate, would he have sent people like Cho Soo-jin and Kim Jae-won to the disciplinary committee?" Hong briefly answered, "Referral to the disciplinary committee."

Photo by online platform 'Cheongnyeonui Kkum' screen capture.

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Earlier that day, Lee and Cho reportedly exchanged loud words during a closed-door election committee meeting. When Lee told Cho to properly manage so-called 'Yun Hae-gwan' (key associates of Yoon Seok-yeol) articles, Cho reportedly retorted, "I will only listen to candidate Yoon Seok-yeol." Following this, Lee is said to have struck the table with his hand and left the meeting room.

Afterwards, Lee met with reporters and effectively acknowledged the conflict with Cho. Lee expressed displeasure, saying, "There was someone in the election committee who resisted work instructions, so I tried to correct it according to the committee's operating system," and added, "I gave instructions appropriate to the tasks assigned, but because he said, 'There is no need to listen to the standing election committee chairman,' voices were raised."

In response, Cho apologized, stating, "I take full responsibility for the current series of events."

However, the conflict between the two continued into the night. In the afternoon, Lee posted on his Facebook that he confirmed Cho shared a video defaming him with reporters and directly told him, "Make your own decision regarding your position."

In response, Cho posted on Facebook, "This happened because of a lack of composure, but regardless of the reason, it was wrong. I apologize to the leader."

Following this apology, Lee posted again on Facebook, saying, "Seeing what can hardly be called an apology is frustrating," and emphasized, "Before this becomes a bigger issue, please clearly state your position."

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