Lee Junseok: "TV Debate Spreads Awareness of Lee Jaemyung's Incompetence... Shift in Voter Sentiment Expected"

Growing Interest in Lee Junseok Among Moderate and Conservative Voters
Emphasizing Broad Appeal Through Head-to-Head Analysis
Rejecting Calls for Unified Candidacy, Continuing Independent Campaign

Lee Junseok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, said on the 24th, "Awareness of Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, and his incompetence is spreading." He added, "Now, I can sense that voters who are shocked by Lee's incompetence are gradually taking an interest in someone like Lee Junseok, who is free from both martial law and political incompetence." Lee Junseok predicted, "There will be a rapid shift in voter sentiment."

Regarding the recent rise in support for Kim Moonsoo, the People Power Party candidate, Lee said, "If you look at the head-to-head indicators between Kim Moonsoo and Lee Jaemyung, and between myself and Lee Jaemyung, you will see that Lee Jaemyung actually secures more than half of the votes when facing Kim Moonsoo, because Kim Moonsoo has limited appeal." He continued, "Moderate and conservative voters need to realize that the only person who can even slightly reduce Lee Jaemyung's chances of winning is Lee Junseok."

Lee Junseok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, is having a meal and conversation with public service exam candidates at a Korean buffet restaurant in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding the previous day's TV debate on social issues hosted by the National Election Commission, Lee Junseok said, "Many people seemed disappointed after seeing how Lee Jaemyung consistently avoided questions that represented the younger generation and the public, and how he disregarded the younger generation." He added, "Based on yesterday's debate alone, Lee Jaemyung proved himself to be unfit, and in terms of manners, I would say he scored zero."

He stated, "When the younger generation makes reasonable criticisms, responding with a condescending attitude is the very definition of being a 'kkondae' (old-fashioned and patronizing)." He continued, "Even when Lee Jaemyung was the mayor of Seongnam, he showed problematic behavior and character, such as telling people to drive out visiting people with disabilities instead of engaging in conversation. I believe these issues were revealed again during the debate." During the debate, Lee Jaemyung used expressions such as "You are young, but your thinking is very old" and "You are narrow-minded" when addressing Lee Junseok.

Regarding Lee Jaemyung's explanation about election fraud allegations mentioned in the debate, Lee Junseok said, "It was not a mistake; he actively made up a story and lied to the public." However, he explained, "Although there were calls to file a complaint against Lee Jaemyung under the Public Official Election Act, within the Reform New Party, the prevailing opinion is that we should prevent the judicialization of politics, so we have decided not to file a complaint against him." He added, "In the past, candidate number 1 believed in election fraud, and candidate number 2 has still not severed ties with election fraud theorists and the Yoon Sukyeol martial law faction. Both of them have clearly shown conspiratorial tendencies. Now, the only choice based on common sense is candidate number 4."

Lee Junseok again drew a line regarding the People Power Party's proposal for a unified candidacy. He said, "We are working hard to research policies and prepare for debates to rationally point out the dangers of a possible presidency by someone as dangerous as Lee Jaemyung, but people in the People Power Party are only fighting for party leadership or constantly talking to the media about political engineering and unification, which only disrupts the atmosphere." He emphasized, "They need to come to their senses and realize that the only task is to inform the public about the dangers and irresponsibility of Lee Jaemyung."