Lee Jun-seok Moves Ahead of Party Election... Draws Line on Supporting Yoo Seung-min

Yoo Seung-min Leading Party Convention Polls
Lee Jun-seok on Support Rumors: "Never Considered It"
Bitter Criticism on Convention Rule Changes... Also Criticizes 'Kimjang Alliance'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] With the timing of the People Power Party's (PPP) party convention set for early March next year, former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok, who had been laying low, is now actively asserting his presence. Following his attendance at the publication celebration of PPP lawmaker Heo Eun-ah, he spoke publicly for the first time in four months during a lecture at Korea University on the 22nd. Emergency Response Committee Chairman Jeong Jin-seok responded with checks via social media (SNS).

Lee Jun-seok: "Kim-Jang Alliance, Two Shrimps Together Are Still Shrimps"

After his invited lecture at the Jeonggyeong Building on Korea University’s Anam Campus on the 22nd, former leader Lee met with reporters and evaluated the 'Kim-Jang (Kim Ki-hyun and Jang Je-won) alliance' by saying, "Even if two shrimps come together, they are still shrimps. They will never become a whale." Lee has been in conflict within the party with these two, who are classified as 'Yun Core Officials' (key associates of Yoon Seok-yeol). In August, on SNS, he directly targeted lawmaker Jang Je-won with the term 'Samsung-gano (三姓家奴)' (a derogatory term meaning 'slave to three families'), and in a petition, he pointed out that lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun was "challenging the authority of the court."

The formation of the 'Kim-Jang alliance' by the two Yun Core Officials is analyzed as an effort to consolidate 'Yun’s heart (Yunshim)' ahead of the party convention. Especially after the convention rules were finalized to reflect 100% party members’ votes instead of 70% party members and 30% public opinion, which made the candidate favored by Yunshim have a greater impact on the election outcome. Within the party, each side claims to have Yunshim, and lawmaker Jang can act as a 'pro-Yun detector.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former leader Lee also criticized the rule changes in this direction. He said, "Even if you change the entrance exam system, the students who are supposed to get in will get in, so I think it won’t be a big problem," but added, "Changing the party constitution and rules right before the election every time makes me think it could harm the party’s stability." He also pointed out contradictions regarding the introduction of the runoff voting system, saying, "If the cutoff is also 100% party member votes, logically it’s already decided, so why have a runoff vote?"

The 100% party member vote reflection and the introduction of the runoff voting system are suspected to target former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, who has a weak support base within the party. Regarding Yoo’s possible candidacy for party leader, Lee said, "I think he will," but dismissed alliance rumors, saying, "I have never thought about it. I have never even considered it."

Despite Yoon’s Approval Rating at 40%... "When I Was Around, It Was Naturally in the High 40s"

President Yoon Seok-yeol’s approval rating for his administration had been declining amid conflicts with former leader Lee but recently recovered to barely 40% as his tough stance on labor unions rallied conservative support. Lee commented on this, "Until I led the local elections, it was only natural for the approval rating to exceed the high 40s," adding, "When I was party leader, the Democratic Party never surpassed us in approval ratings."

This was the first time in about four months since his press conference in August that former leader Lee spoke freely in a public setting. After receiving a six-month suspension of party membership rights in July, he had been laying low but unleashed criticism of President Yoon and the Yun Core Officials during the press conference. He named lawmakers directly, urging them to "run in difficult districts," and stirred controversy by comparing President Yoon to 'dog meat,' saying he "shook the sheep’s head while selling dog meat the hardest."

After continuing to lay low during the 'injunction phase,' he appeared publicly for the first time at the end of last month by attending the publication celebration of lawmaker Heo from the same party. Although he had refrained from SNS activity for a while, he has been increasing his SNS presence this month by sharing parts of his book, leading to analyses that he is timing his political comeback.

Emergency Response Committee Chairman Jeong, who once had an SNS exchange with former leader Lee, made a pointed remark about the Korea University lecture, saying, "During last year’s presidential candidate primary, I raised the issue that 'Yoon Seok-yeol should be treated like a dolphin,' and Lee hit back saying 'mackerel and anchovies should be treated the same,'" implying that comparing the 'Kim-Jang alliance' to 'shrimps' does not align with Lee’s past remarks.