Kwon Eun-hee "Is Vacation That Important?" vs. Lee Jun-seok "Are You Telling Me to Wait?"... Tension Over 'Opposition Party Merger'

Lee Jun-seok "Don't know if we will merge, should I wait at the People's Party?"

Lee Jun-seok, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The People Power Party and the People’s Party are engaged in a tense standoff over their merger talks. When Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, set the deadline for merger discussions with the People’s Party to just before his vacation schedule (August 2?8), the People’s Party criticized him, asking, "Is your vacation really that important?"

On August 1, Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, posted on her Facebook, "I didn’t realize that Leader Lee’s vacation schedule was such an important date in the presidential election for regime change," sarcastically adding, "The People’s Party, unaware of this, has filled this week’s schedule with efforts to uncover the worst manipulation of democracy, the 'Kim Kyung-soo?Druking public opinion manipulation masterminds' investigation."

She continued, "Have a good vacation," and added, "Once Leader Lee’s vacation, which he declared as a non-aggression period to the opposition, is over, we are ready to meet anytime to jointly respond to the truth-finding of the comment manipulation."

Earlier, on July 31, Leader Lee specified the deadline for merger talks as August 2?8. He also introduced his summer vacation plans, including a personal taxi training course, scheduled for August 9?15.

Regarding this, Koo Hyuk-mo, Supreme Council member of the People’s Party, emphasized on his Facebook that "The deadline for integration is decided by the people, not by the party leader’s vacation."

He pointed out, "Leader Lee threatened to set the meeting deadline for the merger as 'next week,' but now says there is no time even for the bus to depart after his vacation," adding, "We don’t even know the president’s vacation schedule, yet suddenly the entire nation seems to know Leader Lee’s vacation plans. Taking a personal taxi training course shouldn’t be more important than the merger of a public party."

He further criticized, "The government is urging people to refrain from traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I have never seen a party leader’s summer vacation schedule being politically discussed everywhere during such a critical time. The merger negotiations between the two parties started to unite the opposition’s strength to fix this broken country, but no matter how much I think about it, I really don’t understand why Leader Lee’s vacation schedule is a variable or a deadline."

Kwon Eun-hee, Floor Leader of the People's Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Leader Lee fired back on Facebook, saying, "Now the People’s Party is asking me why I’m going on vacation, and it’s dizzying."

He said, "Conversely, if I don’t go on vacation, will the merger happen? If there is a will to merge, they should just accept the proposal to meet. Now, am I supposed to abandon the promises I made years ago with personal taxi drivers and wait on the People’s Party, which may or may not merge?"

He added, "Are you saying I shouldn’t go on vacation because I might not want to merge this week but might want to next week? I don’t know what kind of contrarian attitude this is, but if we really have to negotiate the merger during my vacation, I will finish my training and come up to Seoul in the evening."

Furthermore, he mocked, "The public is starting to understand why the merger talks have gone off track," and said, "I’m curious what excuse the People’s Party will come up with next."