In Yohan Praises 'Gentleman' Yoo Seung-min
Met MB but Talks with Lee Jun-seok Fail
Lee: "Medicine Should Be Given to the Right Person" Opposes
Tomorrow's Supreme Council to Finalize Disciplinary Pardon
The People Power Party's Innovation Committee is continuing its broad efforts toward grand unification. Innovation Committee Chair In Yo-han visited former President Lee Myung-bak and met with former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, a leading figure of the non-Yoon (anti-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction, signaling a willingness to unify. However, a meeting with former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok fell through, resulting in only a partial success. Former leader Lee is opposing, stating that there is no reason to meet Chair In if the Innovation Committee fails to resolve the relationship between the presidential office and the party.
On the 1st, Chair In revealed in a CBS radio interview that he had a private meeting with former lawmaker Yoo. Chair In praised Yoo, saying, "Representative Yoo is truly a gentleman," and added, "After meeting him personally, I felt respect. In short, his concern for the party and the country was admirable." Yoo has been classified as part of the non-Yoon faction due to his opposition to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
Given that former lawmaker Yoo has not yet made any particular statement about his meeting with Chair In, it is highly likely that their meeting ended on a positive note. Within the party, there is an atmosphere of hope that internal conflicts, such as rumors of forming a new party, will subside. It is also reported that Chair In visited former President Lee last week.
On the other hand, Chair In was unable to arrange a meeting with former leader Lee Jun-seok. Former leader Lee is also opposing the Innovation Committee’s first agenda item, which involves pardoning his disciplinary action by the Ethics Committee, and continues to demand improvements in the vertical relationship with the presidential office.
On the same day, after meeting with former People Power Party Emergency Committee Chair Kim Jong-in, former leader Lee told reporters, "It seems that the public has been thoroughly disappointed by various failures of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration over the past 17 months," and added, "(However,) Chair In Yo-han said he would give the party a bitter medicine. The public is dissatisfied not with the party but elsewhere, so why give the party bitter medicine?" He criticized, "That exactly represents the logic of Yongsan, and as long as Chair In says that, party members will never agree," and emphasized, "It is important to give medicine to the right person."
If the Innovation Committee fails to embrace former leader Lee, there are concerns that efforts to embrace the non-Yoon faction may also be only half-hearted. Previously, Chun Ha-ram, chairman of the Suncheon Gap Party Association and close to former leader Lee, also declined Chair In’s proposal to participate in the Innovation Committee.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Council, which will decide on the cancellation of disciplinary actions against former leader Lee and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, has yet to finalize the agenda. The Supreme Council will convene on the 2nd.
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