Warning Message Intent Regarding the Direction of Yoon Seok-yeol's Election Committee
[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] On the 3rd consecutive day of boycotting the People Power Party's election campaign committee activities while touring the regions, Representative Lee Jun-seok moved to Jeju Island on the 2nd. Earlier, Cheon Haram, the Suncheon Gap Party Committee Chair who met Lee in Suncheon, said, "Representative Lee is feeling a sense of crisis about the presidential election results. It seems he will not return to Seoul until this sense of crisis is resolved."
Among Lee's entourage moving from Busan to Suncheon, Yeosu, and Jeju, it is known that there is also a current journalist. This can be interpreted not as Lee intending to 'go into hiding' but as continuously sending 'messages' to Seoul.
Chairman Cheon appeared on MBC Radio that day and said, "I think he believes that conditions need to be met so that the representative, the candidate, and the entire party can work well together," adding, "It seemed that (Representative Lee) had no intention of easily returning to Seoul unless the sense of crisis was resolved." He met Lee in Suncheon the previous day and discussed the public sentiment in Honam and other topics.
According to Chairman Cheon, Lee currently has a great sense of crisis about Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign committee. The biggest problem is the direction. He judges that the lineup of recruited personnel lacks a 'proper target or concept.' Chairman Cheon said, "They are conducting an 'Ahn Cheol-soo style election' trying to catch all rabbits," and "They don't even consider why 2030 males have veto sentiments toward Professor Lee Soo-jung." In addition, Chairman Cheon conveyed that there is significant dissatisfaction over the failure of former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in to join.
In this situation, unless Candidate Yoon presents a card that can alleviate Lee's sense of crisis, Lee's boycott of the campaign committee is expected to continue. However, there is also criticism that this is an 'irresponsible act as party leader.' Nevertheless, Lee is dispelling such criticism by sending a message that his actions are not simply a 'refresh' but fulfilling his duties as party leader by attending to regional public sentiment. At the same time, he is employing a strategy of pressuring Yoon's side to 'give an answer,' stating that his return to the boycotted campaign committee depends on Yoon's decision.
However, if this unprecedented conflict between the presidential candidate and the party leader lasts long, it will inevitably damage Candidate Yoon primarily, but it is clear that there are also 'risks' for Lee. Jang Ye-chan, former youth special advisor to Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign who knew Lee, wrote on Facebook that day, "I don't know what the problem is, but if there is something unsatisfactory about the campaign committee's composition or publicity, isn't Lee Jun-seok's style to confront it head-on?" He urged, "Unconditionally return to Seoul immediately and declare that you will do your best for regime change. Brother (Lee Jun-seok) is not a shrimp crushed in a whale fight but a wave that pushes the whale."
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