Geum Tae-seop: "Lee Jun-seok is someone I can talk to... We'll discuss what to do slowly"

"Two as One" Asked, "We Must Gather All Our Strength"
"Lee Jun-seok and Geum Tae-seop Succeeding Separately Is Difficult"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who met with former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, who is preparing to launch a new party in Sindang, described him as "someone who can have a conversation" and expressed his intention to continue meeting him in the future. However, when asked whether he would work together with Lee, he gave a general answer, saying, "All forces in the third zone must unite."

On the 13th, former lawmaker Geum said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Since it was our first meeting that day and we talked about various things, I think it is not appropriate to go into every detail, but I do intend to keep meeting him going forward."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "After having a conversation with (former leader Lee), I realized that we have many differences in thought, but still, we can communicate and understand each other." He added, "At least among the people I have met in politics, he is not someone who would say, 'This is the president's will' or 'This is the Blue House's will.'"

However, he also said, "this will not happen all at once," and left room for discussion by saying, "We need to talk slowly about how to decide and what actions to take."

Former lawmaker Geum said, "Since former leader Lee was the immediate past leader of the People Power Party, he has some attachment to the party and probably wishes for its success," adding, "But in my view, if this two-party structure is not broken, there is no future for Korean politics. I was interested in whether we share the same awareness on this, whether we have the same goals, and what needs to be changed, and I found that we have similar thoughts."

Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, who arranged the meeting between the two, also said, "They have no choice but to work together." Regarding this, former lawmaker Geum said, "If we want to change the structure of our politics and pursue new politics, people who think that way must come together, even if their positions differ, by making concessions and having conversations." He added, "If former leader Lee shares similar concerns and decides to walk the same path as I do, then we have no choice but to go together."

When the host asked, "So you will work together, then?" former lawmaker Geum replied, "Many people say that a new party or Korean politics need to be changed, and if these people can unite their forces, they can succeed. Otherwise, it will be difficult." He added, "If Lee Jun-seok goes separately, Geum Tae-seop goes separately, and others go separately, success will be difficult."