Why Is Angry Ahn Cheol-soo Holding a Press Conference Amid the 'Lee Jun-seok Expulsion' Petition Campaign?

An, Fierce Criticism of Lee Jun-seok... Calls for Expulsion
"Praised Him, but He Became Extremely Arrogant"

The conflict between Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, and former leader Lee Jun-seok is deepening. The two previously engaged in a heated exchange over a profanity controversy during Ahn's campaign support for the by-election for the mayor of Gangseo District, Seoul, blaming each other for the election defeat.

Ahn launched a signature campaign to expel Lee, accusing him of internal sabotage that damaged public trust in the party, and on the 16th, held a press conference urging Lee's expulsion.

At the press conference, Ahn said, "We must remove the bad person who criticizes and mocks our party more than the Democratic Party, stirs internal strife, and arrogantly predicts our party's election loss percentage," emphasizing, "The number one innovation task learned from this election defeat is to weed out the bad people ruining the party and bring in good people to expand our politics."

Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on the 16th at the National Assembly urging the expulsion of former leader Lee Jun-seok.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He continued, "Lee Jun-seok, who was disciplined after causing conflicts due to his arrogance that he made President Yoon Seok-yeol with his own power, continues to mock and ridicule the party through media appearances, engaging only in internal sabotage, reaching the height of arrogance," criticizing, "He entered politics at a young age under the patronage of the Park Geun-hye administration, and after being praised and treated well for party reform, his arrogance has reached its peak."

He added, "Lee Jun-seok has now lost representation of the 2030 generation and has no support base, yet he deceives the world with his sharp tongue and mutilates the party, while being overly glorified as if he is still the youth representative," stating, "Today, together with the 16,036 citizens who voluntarily joined the signature campaign to expel Lee Jun-seok, I will request the party's Ethics Committee to discipline him with expulsion."

It is well known in political circles that Ahn and Lee have a troubled history. They have clashed repeatedly since competing in the 2016 general election in the Nowon-byeong district of Seoul. However, Ahn had shown a positive response to the 'non-Yoon faction inclusion theory,' including Lee, until recently. In August, he appeared on YTN and said regarding next year's general election, "The side that embraces more people will win."

However, the profanity controversy and the election defeat during the Gangseo District mayor by-election support campaign have deepened the rift between the two. The profanity controversy arose when a citizen cursed, "You f***ing idiot, damn it," during Ahn's campaign on the 9th, and Ahn responded jokingly, "You really are a f***ing idiot." This remark became known after Lee mentioned it on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' the next day, and Lee claimed that Ahn, who made the offensive remark, was also responsible for the Gangseo mayoral election defeat.

Lee's camp reacted that Ahn's expulsion request was unexpected. Cheon Ha-ram, the party committee chairman for Suncheon Gap and classified as part of the Lee Jun-seok faction, said in a BBS Radio interview, "Ahn is an important asset to our party, but looking at the by-election results, it seems he has lost appeal to the moderate and younger generations compared to before," adding, "As a presidential candidate, he needs to maintain his presence, even to secure a nomination in Bundang again, and one way is to strongly attack Lee Jun-seok to gain support from the traditional conservative base. I think this is a strategic move."

Meanwhile, following Ahn's press conference, Lee also held one on the same day. Lee did not directly mention Ahn but referred to the Gangseo mayor by-election defeat, urging, "If President Yoon Seok-yeol's national policy direction does not change, the general election will be lost," and called to "acknowledge the mistakes made during the past 17 months in power."