[Aftermath of Lee Jun-seok] Is There an 'Invisible Hand'... The Bitter Feud Between Representative Lee and Yoon's Core Faction

Controversies Over 'Passing' Party Leader Since President Yoon's Entry
Pro-Yoon vs. Anti-Yoon Conflict Over Gyeongjunwi and Reverse-Choice Prevention Rules
Leader Lee's Shorts Pledge and Division Also Burden the Camp

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, attends a high-level party-government consultation meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 6th, wearing a serious expression. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, has received a six-month suspension of party membership rights from the party's Central Ethics Committee, prompting sighs within the ruling party that this is political interference by an 'invisible hand.' Given that the police investigation results have not yet been released, the Ethics Committee's unprecedented decision to impose a severe punishment on a sitting party leader, and the unclear ruling by Ethics Committee Chairperson Lee Yang-hee, who stated that she would not judge the fact of sexual bribery itself but still found a violation of the duty to maintain dignity, it is speculated that political considerations rather than the essence of the incident influenced the disciplinary action.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, when meeting with reporters on the morning of the 8th regarding the severe disciplinary result, said, "It is unfortunate, but as president, it is not appropriate to comment on party affairs," adding, "I believe that the president commenting on the party's efforts to recover and meet the public's expectations would not be helpful." This has been criticized as a statement showing a lack of understanding of Yeouido politics. The fact that the president, who is at the pinnacle of power struggles, takes no action is interpreted as drawing a line from Lee. In political circles, the invisible hand behind this disciplinary action is believed to be connected to President Yoon and his close associates, so-called 'Yunhaekgwan (Yoon's core associates).' Lee and Yunhaekgwan have been in constant conflict, and this Ethics Committee sanction is seen as the climax of that tension.

The Seed of Conflict Born from Yoon's Party Entry

The conflict between Lee and Yunhaekgwan dates back to a year ago during President Yoon's candidacy. From the moment Yoon joined the People Power Party, discord with Lee emerged. On July 30, 2021, President Yoon abruptly announced his entry into the People Power Party. However, at that time, the party leadership, including Lee, was absent from the National Assembly. Only former External Cooperation Committee Chairperson Kwon Young-se was present to receive Yoon's membership application. For a candidate leading in the polls, this was a modest party entry. Although Yoon claimed he was unaware of Lee's local schedule, not knowing the leader's schedule, which is usually announced a day in advance, effectively meant 'passing over' Lee. The party's public relations office even issued a notice that day stating, "There was no separate consultation with the party leadership regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon's visit to the party headquarters."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The conflict between President Yoon and Lee was an expected outcome following the party entry, which proceeded with hurt feelings on both sides. The presidential primary preparation committee formed by Lee faced opposition from Yoon's camp at the time. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors, planned debates were repeatedly canceled as Yoon's camp expressed their intention not to participate. Yoon's camp even mentioned 'impeachment' seemingly targeting Lee, claiming that Lee did not properly treat Yoon, who had high approval ratings. Former lawmaker Shin Ji-ho, who served as the political affairs director of Yoon's camp, said in August last year, "Even if it is a decision by the party leader or the president, if it is not based on the constitution and laws, impeachment could be possible." Lee responded directly via Facebook, saying, "Joining the party when the leadership was absent, then encouraging a boycott of party events and now even mentioning impeachment?I don't understand what is so wrong," adding, "No matter how much the party is shaken, I will continue to uphold a fair primary."

The internal strife intensified over the introduction of rules to prevent reverse voting. The conflict between pro- and anti-Yoon factions became prominent as Yoon's camp insisted on the necessity of reverse voting prevention clauses. Lee's promise to run a 'fair primary bus' was seen as tarnished. Amid the controversy, then-Election Commission Chairperson Jeong Hong-won even offered to resign to Lee but later withdrew the resignation, causing a stir.

Conflict Between Party Leader and Presidential Candidate Reaches Dangerous Levels
Lee Resigns as Co-Chair of the Campaign Committee
If This Leads to a Rivalry in the Next Party Convention, Declining Approval Ratings Are Inevitable

The conflict among Lee, President Yoon, and Yunhaekgwan escalated dramatically. In November last year, Lee posted "This is the end" on Facebook and canceled all official schedules. This was the result of ongoing tensions with Yunhaekgwan even after Yoon was officially nominated as the candidate. At that time, Lee suddenly disappeared after criticizing the inclusion of Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University’s Criminal Psychology Department in the campaign committee, which Yoon accepted despite Lee's objections. Later, former floor leader Kim Ki-hyun created a reconciliation meeting between Yoon and Lee in Ulsan, which temporarily resolved the conflict. However, Lee clashed again with Supreme Council member Cho Soo-jin and resigned from his positions as co-chair of the campaign committee and head of the publicity and media headquarters, an unprecedented situation for a party leader. It is reported that Yoon's camp was quite embarrassed by this. It was very unusual for the party leader to relinquish all campaign committee positions.

Yoon's camp reportedly felt considerable pressure whenever Lee suddenly cut off contact, traveled to the provinces, or made precarious remarks. Earlier this year, the then parliamentary leadership announced a collective resignation to try to change the party atmosphere and held a party members' meeting to officially demand Lee's resignation. At the meeting, then floor deputy leader Choo Kyung-ho said, "Today is a meeting for our party to be reborn, but we have yet to see any change in the party leader," adding, "I cannot tolerate this any longer. It is time to decide on the party leader's resignation, so let's decide here."

Additionally, Yoon's camp found it difficult to understand Lee's unilateral announcements of '59-second shorts pledges' and excessive gender and generational division tactics without proper consultation with the campaign. Representative examples include the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and a monthly soldier salary of 2 million won. A People Power Party official said, "When creating the shorts pledges, Lee's side requested ideas from aides," adding, "We were surprised that proposals made without budget review or follow-up discussions were directly reflected."

If both sides had made efforts to understand each other by stepping back rather than focusing solely on their own positions, the historic disgrace of disciplining a sitting party leader in the ruling party might have been avoided. The ongoing conflict causes fatigue not only among supporters but also the general public. If the People Power Party uses this disciplinary action as a stepping stone to enter the next party leadership battle, the already declining approval ratings are likely to fall further. President Yoon's approval ratings are also expected to drop accordingly.