[Yoon Seok-yeol Dismissal] Lee Jun-seok: "Yoon's Dismissal is an Extremely Natural and Common-Sense Decision"

"Public Sentiment in Yeongnam Region
May Experience Significant Turbulence"

Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, said on the 4th, immediately after the Constitutional Court's dismissal of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, that it was a "perfectly natural and common-sense decision."

Lee stated this at an emergency Supreme Council meeting of the Reform New Party held at the National Assembly that afternoon, saying, "The end of delusion ultimately led to dismissal."

He explained the Constitutional Court's impeachment ruling by saying, "I paid particular attention to two points. One was the court's indication that Yoon Seok-yeol's allegations of election fraud were unfounded, and the other was the ruling's statement that Yoon had ample opportunity to persuade the people through elections."

He added, "These were all things I repeatedly told President Yoon and his key aides when I was the leader of the People Power Party." He raised his voice, saying, "The ray of light seen at the end of a long tunnel must not become the beginning of another tunnel. From today, ignorant political forces that use anti-intellectual language such as 'election fraud' and 'enlightenment order' must disappear from the public discourse along with Yoon Seok-yeol."

Yonhap News

As a presidential candidate, Lee said, "Those who wavered trying to appeal to hardline conservative forces should now pave the way with youth, conviction, and boldness," emphasizing, "I will raise my voice louder to proclaim that there exists a conservative force that is not outdated and speaks the truth."

Addressing Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the opposition, he said, "The people will surely deliver a decisive judgment through elections against the massive opposition party that paralyzed politics with dozens of impeachments, wielding its overwhelming majority in the National Assembly as a sword and shield to prevent the detention of one person."

He also emphasized that his first presidential campaign stop would be 'Yeongnam.' Lee analyzed, "There is a high possibility that public sentiment in the Yeongnam region will fluctuate greatly," adding, "Above all, although (in Yeongnam) support for President Yoon and the conservative camp was solid and strong, the sense of betrayal has only grown."

He stressed, "Ultimately, I will strive to make it known that the ones at fault are the old-guard politicians who exploited their hearts and sincerity," and "I will nurture expectations for a new conservatism."