Reform New Party, Conflict Intensifies... "Lee Jun-seok's Overlord Politics" vs "Heo Eun-ah's Factionalization"

Tensions Over Meeting Notification Even Before the Session Began
Heo Euna: "The Conflict Stems from Displeasing Lee Junseok, the Major Shareholder"
Cheon Haram: "The Core Issue Is Heo Not Receiving a Nomination"

The leadership of the Reform New Party publicly clashed on the 13th over internal conflicts surrounding Representative Heo Eun-ah's position. Representative Heo pointed to 'Lee Jun-seok's kingmaker politics' as the main cause of the Reform New Party's conflict. On the other hand, Floor Leader Cheon Ha-ram countered that Representative Heo's 'factionalism' was the core issue of the current controversy.

The Reform New Party's Supreme Council meeting held that morning revealed the conflict between both sides from the start. When Representative Heo asked the supreme council members entering the meeting room, "Why haven't you come in for the pre-meeting starting at 9:30 a.m.?" Floor Leader Cheon replied, "What are you talking about? There was no notification at all." Supreme Council Member Lee Gi-in also rebutted Representative Heo by saying, "Don't be mistaken," to which Representative Heo responded, "I would appreciate it if you refrained from using words like 'don't be mistaken.' Please observe basic courtesy." Even before the meeting began, both sides expressed the emotional rift that had accumulated over time.

In her opening remarks at the meeting, Representative Heo directly criticized, "I only said I would run the party according to the authority of the party leader, but they are trying to oust the leader because they are displeased with the so-called major shareholder." She explained, "What is happening now is no different from what happened in the People Power Party in the summer of 2022. The only difference is that the party leader is Heo Eun-ah, not Lee Jun-seok, and the major shareholder is Lee Jun-seok, not Yoon Seok-yeol."

Representative Heo stated, "I can no longer stand by as they try to oust the party leader using party rules and regulations they made among themselves without following procedures," and insisted, "Lee Jun-seok must abandon his obsession with kingmaker politics."

She then addressed the supreme council members, saying, "The appointment authority of the Secretary-General is an inherent right of the party leader, and the conduct of the Supreme Council meetings is also the leader's inherent right," urging, "Floor Leader Cheon and the supreme council members should stop violating the party constitution and regulations." She warned, "I hope you acknowledge that the Secretary-General's attempt to amend the party constitution and regulations to make the leader a mere figurehead is also wrong."

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In response, Floor Leader Cheon stated, "The essence of this dispute is the aftermath of the proportional representation nomination conflict during the last general election," adding, "Specifically, the core issue is that Representative Heo did not receive a proportional representation nomination."

Floor Leader Cheon pointed out, "The first to raise issues about Representative Heo were the party officials," criticizing, "There were too many formalities, unnecessary expenses, forced protocol, pressure to create media exposure for herself, and failure to adequately present the party's vision, which made it difficult for the party officials." He added, "Because Representative Heo ran the entire party like her own office, they tried to correct this." He argued that the essence of the situation lies in Representative Heo's factionalism.

Supreme Council Member Lee Gi-in said, "Representative Heo mistakenly believes that all these issues are slander and conspiracy against her," and added, "At this point, such delusions are a disease. Right now, Representative Heo is not Lee Jun-seok but Son Hak-gyu of the Bareunmirae Party. Please take responsibility and resolve this yourself."

Supreme Council Member Jeon Seong-gyun also criticized, "Representative Heo seems no different from Yoon Seok-yeol, who is holding out at the Hannam-dong residence. The second-term leadership has ample reason to resign en masse."

In response, Representative Heo retorted, "If Lee Jun-seok were the party leader, would he have done the same? There can be imperfect heads of the family, but no head wants to ruin the household. Would anyone tell the head to leave just because they don't like them?"

As the conflict between both sides prolonged, Lee Jun-seok's faction plans to push for a 'party member recall system' to question Representative Heo's confidence. When Lee met with reporters that afternoon and was asked about Representative Heo's remark comparing the situation to the 2022 People Power Party leader ousting incident, he said, "I wonder if anyone is using the Ethics Committee or any procedure not stipulated to say something to Representative Heo."

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