Lee Cheol-gyu Ahn's 'Jongbuk' Attack... Lee Jun-seok "Not Sure"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Lee Cheol-gyu, a member of the People Power Party classified as 'Pro-Yoon (친윤)', criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, a candidate for party leader, by calling him "a person who respects the communist Shin Young-bok," engaging in 'pro-North Korea labeling.' Former party leader Lee Jun-seok defended Ahn, saying, "Definitely not."

On the 6th, Lee Jun-seok posted on his social media (SNS), "The 'Ahn Cheol-soo pro-North Korea labeling' is making the election campaign a mockery. Please stop bothering candidate Ahn with this topic."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier that morning, Lee Cheol-gyu wrote on his SNS, "A person who respects the communist Shin Young-bok, opposed the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) to protect the Republic of Korea, claims credit for good things and blames others for mistakes, and who could not even properly operate a small boat and caused it to run aground, now says he will become the captain of the Republic of Korea ship." Although no subject was explicitly mentioned, the context indicates that this was aimed at candidate Ahn, who had referred to Mr. Shin as a 'pure and good person.'

In response, former leader Lee Jun-seok said, "Let's have a normal party convention focusing on the party's vision. Candidate Ahn is definitely not pro-North Korea," and questioned, "Why would someone who owns stocks worth hundreds of billions of won be pro-North Korea?"

He added, "Moreover, being pro-North Korea requires a genuine, firm ideological conviction that can uphold Juche ideology even if others deny it. People who waver depending on the situation cannot be pro-North Korea," and "For the same reason, Yoon core officials (Yoon Seok-yeol's key associates) cannot be pro-North Korea either."