Ahn Cheol-soo Cancels All Schedules, Yoon Personnel Opposition? Lee Jun-seok "Yoon-Ahn Conflict? I Don't Know Well"

Yoon: "There Is No Such Thing as Belonging to Someone"

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol (left) and Chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee Ahn Cheol-soo. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Amid reports that Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition committee, abruptly canceled his official schedule on the 14th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, distanced himself from the conflict between President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol and Chairman Ahn, saying, "I don't know much about it."

Chairman Ahn did not attend the boxed lunch dinner scheduled on the 13th with President-elect Yoon and transition committee officials, and also canceled his visit to the Seoul Fire Department's fire policy site at 10:30 a.m. on the 14th.

This appears to reflect his displeasure over the fact that personnel recommended by Chairman Ahn were not included in the two rounds of appointments announced by President-elect Yoon on the 10th and 13th. Consequently, prospects for the merger between the two parties have become more uncertain. Chairman Ahn's side stated, "There is a need to consider the situation where the spirit of the joint government agreement is not being well upheld."

Regarding this, after the People Power Party's Supreme Council meeting on the 14th, Leader Lee told reporters, "I am on the island (Yeouido), so I don't know what happened at Tongui-dong (the transition committee). I am busy preparing for the local election nominations."

He also said about the merger between the People Power Party and the People’s Party, "As of the 11th, differences regarding the merger have been adjusted." Earlier, Leader Lee expressed regret, saying, "The merger declaration with the People’s Party was supposed to happen on the 11th, but it did not due to unexpected situations involving Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, and Representative Lee Tae-gyu."

Leader Lee added, "Regarding the People’s Party’s delayed decision, I am making some inferences based on media reports," but he refrained from confirming, saying, "No specific reason for the delay has been communicated, so I cannot give a definite answer."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, at a press conference at the transition committee office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, President-elect Yoon announced the nominees for the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. When asked if he intended to meet or contact Chairman Ahn, he said, "I don't quite understand. I received recommendations from him, explained how the appointment process works, and I think there is no problem with that."

Regarding whether excluding Ahn Cheol-soo’s faction from the cabinet would cause difficulties in forming a joint government, he said, "A joint government means finding excellent people together and assigning them tasks. There is no such thing as belonging to someone’s faction."

He added, "Right now, I have no idea what (Chairman Ahn) is thinking or what his position is."