Kim Jaewon: "Lee Junseok Aims to Boost His Presence... May Not Agree to Unification"

"Conditions for Unification with Lee Junseok
Not Yet Mature"

Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Kim Jaewon stated that "Lee Junseok, the Reform New Party presidential candidate, ultimately aims to assert his political presence by running in the presidential election," indicating that the likelihood of a single candidacy with Kim Moonsoo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, is low.

Kim Moonsoo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, and Lee Junseok, the Reform New Party presidential candidate, are attending the Seoul Debate Walking with the Vulnerable held at Seoul City Hall on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On May 21, during an appearance on Channel A Radio's 'Political Signal,' Kim Jaewon, who serves as chief of staff for Kim Moonsoo, said, "In Lee's case, it is highly likely that his ultimate goal is to demonstrate his political presence by seeing the presidential race through to the end," adding, "Conversely, this means that efforts to unify the candidacies of Kim and Lee are likely to stall."

Regarding the idea of unifying the candidacy around Lee, Kim pointed out, "This indicates that the conditions for unification have not matured."

Kim further emphasized, "Realistically, unifying the candidacy around Lee Junseok would do little to help win the presidency," and added, "To prevent the emergence of a leftist administration led by Lee Jaemyung and to resolve the crisis of democracy, where our Republic of Korea and Free Korea could be transformed into a presidential dictatorship, unification must occur around a candidate who can actually win."

However, Kim stated that he would still work toward achieving a unified candidacy. He explained, "Unification is ultimately about bringing the hearts of the people together and creating a political equation where one plus one does not equal two, but three," adding, "As election day approaches, the effect of unification diminishes, so if unification is to happen, it should be done as quickly as possible."