Lee Jun-seok: "Kim Moo-sung's Emergency Committee is to Promote Ahn Cheol-soo... No Intention for Presidential Primary Unification"

"Jungjin, Underestimates Ahn Cheol-soo... Voters Themselves Are Contradictory"
Regarding Han Dong-hoon's Presidential Bid, "He Will Suffer a Defeat Grand Slam"

Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, claimed that the discussion of former lawmaker Kim Moo-sung as an emergency committee chairman following the resignation of former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon is an attempt to promote Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker, as a presidential candidate.

Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, raises both hands toward the People Power Party members during the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On the 16th, Lee said on JTBC's YouTube live show 'Genre Only Yeouido,' "During the Seoul mayoral by-election, Chairman Kim Jong-in supported Mayor Oh Se-hoon, while senior lawmakers including former lawmaker Kim insisted on bringing in Ahn, which led to a fierce contest," adding, "The Mapo Forum centered around former lawmaker Kim, who dreams of a comeback, will again use Ahn as a mediator this time."

When asked if they were reusing a failed card, Lee explained, "They underestimate Ahn, thinking he is naive," and added, "Since his influence is weak, they put him forward and say, 'We'll handle everything behind the scenes.'" He also argued that despite Ahn opposing the party's stance against President Yoon Seok-youl's impeachment motion, he could still stand as a presidential candidate. Lee said, "There is originally no logic in Yeouido politics. Voters themselves can sometimes be contradictory," citing as an example, "People who talk about women's rights vote for Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party." This appears to reference Lee Jae-myung's past controversy involving insulting his sister-in-law.

Lee viewed former leader Han's presidential bid negatively. He said, "If Han runs in this presidential election, he will achieve a grand slam of defeats: general election loss, local election loss, and presidential election loss," adding, "Han was entrusted with the responsibility to 'do well,' but he disastrously botched the general election." He continued, "Because there was no one else, Han was given a chance at the party convention, but he mistakenly believed, 'I have seized control through achievements.'"

Regarding his own presidential candidacy, Lee promoted the idea of a 40s generation leadership. On unification, he said, "I have no intention," and added, "Elections have changed over the past 10 years, but people still live in outdated notions." Furthermore, he argued, "In the last presidential election, when Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung spent 48 billion won, the People Power Party spent 42 billion won and still won. Looking back, we could have won by spending only 8 billion won," and claimed, "Who watches TV ads anyway? Just upload them on YouTube."