Lee Jun-seok "The deadline is before the Lunar New Year holiday... No An single candidacy expected"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, explained that there will be no unification of opposition candidates with Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Party, saying, "This week before the Lunar New Year holiday was the deadline."

On the 29th, Lee appeared on MBC Radio's 'Politician Insider' and stated, "Historically, unification usually happens about 44 days before the election," explaining this. Lee said, "Most of the online advertisements are contracted by the party this week. Depending on the scale, it can go up to 6 billion won," and added, "The party that signs the contract now shows the will to complete the race, and the party that does not sign the contract is seen as having a low possibility of finishing."

Lee explained, "The official campaign period is about 21 days, and contracts must be made about 20 days before that to meet the deadlines for sending campaign vehicles and promotional materials necessary for the election." He continued, "If unification happens and a candidate disappears or fails to get 15% of the vote, the money is lost," and analyzed, "I don't know what choice the People Party made, but internally, they must have executed funds based on that judgment."

Lee also noted that in the 2017 presidential election, it is understood that Ahn spent 48 billion won on election expenses, emphasizing, "If he is confident that he can receive reimbursement by getting more than 15% of the vote, going ahead is an option, but without that, it is a huge burden." Furthermore, he claimed, "In the current situation, it would be a considerable gamble for Ahn to undertake total expenditures in the 40 billion won range like in the last election."

Lee directed remarks to the Democratic Party, which has left open the possibility of alliance with Ahn, saying, "If unification is so good, then they should do it," and added, "If they negotiate, they might demand something strange." Regarding Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, who is about to have a one-on-one debate with Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Lee analyzed, "In the primary debates with people like Representative Hong Joon-pyo and former Representative Yoo Seung-min, who are said to be skilled in political and verbal tactics, (Yoon) was not at all outmatched."