Kim Jong-in: "Geum Tae-seop and Lee Jun-seok's leadership differs from Ahn Cheol-soo... It will not fizzle out"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who is leading the founding efforts of the new 'Third Zone' party 'Saeroun Seontaek' (New Choice), and former leader Lee Jun-seok, who is reportedly pushing for the party's establishment, have drawn attention to the possibility of their alliance following their meeting. Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, who arranged the meeting, emphasized the necessity of the new party, stating that "(the two) cannot have different orientations."

On the 17th, Kim, the former emergency committee chairman, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' program, "We need to present solutions to the problems our country is currently facing, and there can be no significant differences between the two parties in this regard."

When asked by the host about the past failure of a similar attempt by the 'People's Party,' he emphasized the difference in leadership by saying, "The People's Party at that time failed because the person leading it lacked proper capability, so it couldn't function properly and eventually disappeared."

He added, "Former leader Lee has experienced politics within the People Power Party, and former lawmaker Geum has experienced it within the Democratic Party," and "Because they understand the nature of both parties and why these parties have ended up in their current situations, if they are creating a new party to break away from that, they likely have clear goals they aim for. Therefore, unlike the past three-party attempts that fizzled out, I believe this will not end in such a disorganized manner."

When the host asked whether it is reasonable for former lawmaker Geum to challenge in Seoul and former leader Lee in Daegu, Kim said, "Former lawmaker Geum has said from the beginning that he will focus on the metropolitan area, and recently, former leader Lee seems to be thinking of focusing on Daegu and Gyeongbuk. If the two come together, there could be a considerable synergy effect."

Regarding the possibility of President Yoon Suk-yeol reaching out to former leader Lee, Kim stated, "There is no such possibility," and "If you think coldly about how former leader Lee ended up in this situation recently, that possibility cannot be ruled out."

When asked about the possibility of the 'Principles and Common Sense' faction, a dissident group within the Democratic Party, joining the new party, Kim said, "Honestly, the new party should be a party that shows novelty to the general public, so I don't think it would be advantageous to necessarily accept people who were part of the old political establishment and vested interests."