Geum Tae-seop "Lee Jun-seok U-turn? Would he make a U-turn after saying that?"

"Is Gender Issue Debate Important... Creating a Foundation for Discussion is Key"
"What Does Justice Party Mean? No Interest"

Geum Tae-seop, a former lawmaker leading the third-zone new party 'Saeroun Seontaek' (New Choice), said on the observation that former People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok, who is reportedly pushing for the establishment of a new party, will eventually return to the PPP, "I don't think he will do that."

On the 16th, Geum said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "the most important thing for a politician is consistency and trust. If he talks like that now and then makes a U-turn, well, I don't think he will do that."

Seoul mayoral candidate Geum Tae-seop. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

While Lee is moving to establish a new party, PPP lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung previously pointed out on MBC Radio that Lee's new party has a strong 'Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance' tendency, assuming a return to the PPP.

However, Geum said, "From Ha's position, since he is someone who continues to stay in the PPP, he would say such things, but if Lee is doing that for such reasons, it would lose trust," adding, "I don't think so. If that were the case, we wouldn't have met."

He said, "If Lee were going to return to the PPP or something, he wouldn't have met me," and added, "Since April, I have said that this structure is absolutely not workable and that a new party must be formed, so I wonder why he would bother to meet me and talk."

Some have pointed out that it is difficult for Geum and Lee to work together due to differences in views on 'gender issues.' Regarding this, Geum said, "Good politics is really about people with different thoughts coming together to talk and debate," and questioned, "Right now, even though there is hardly any difference, the Democratic Party is calling each other 'watermelons' (liberals on the outside, conservatives inside), and inside the PPP, there is internal backbiting, isn't there?"

Regarding the 'gender issue,' he said, "Lee and I could get together and, for example, debate whether the pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during the last presidential election was correct," but added, "But is that really important? The Democratic Party is criticizing the PPP on such matters, but has the Democratic Party made even a single step forward in gender equality?"

He continued, "I think it is more important to create a foundation where any thoughts can be put on the table and discussed."

Regarding remarks by Kim Jun-woo, the emergency committee chairman of the Justice Party, who is pushing for an electoral coalition party and opened the possibility of an alliance with Saeroun Seontaek, Geum said, "The Justice Party, after the Cho Kuk incident, became the Democratic Party's second squad on issues like the Corruption Investigation Office and election law, and ended up like this," adding, "It is difficult to think that it cannot be done without the Justice Party but can be done with it. What meaning does the Justice Party have now?"

He added, "When Lee Jeong-mi was the leader, they said they couldn't work together because their life trajectories were different, and now there are people inside trying to form an alliance, so they say they are working together, but they say such things among themselves. I have no particular interest in that."