Yoo Seungmin Says People Power Party Infighting Is Not Normal... Rules Out Gyeonggi Governor Bid

Former lawmaker Yoo Seungmin criticized the People Power Party for engaging in internal infighting, while also making it clear that he has no intention of running as a candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor in the June 3 local elections.

Yoo Seungmin, a former People Power Party lawmaker, is being interviewed at The Asia Business Daily headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 10th. Photo by Kang Jinhyeong

Appearing on a broadcast on the 15th, Yoo said, "The way the party looks right now is not that of a normal party," adding, "If we do not cross the river of impeachment and go into the elections with the conservative bloc still divided, we will inevitably suffer crushing defeats across the board."

Regarding criticism that the People Power Party Ethics Committee’s successive expulsions of pro-Han faction figures, including former leader Han Donghoon, amount to Chairman Jang Donghyuk’s "purge politics," he pointed out, "I do not see this as something that warrants expulsion at all."

Yoo went on, "Why is it that Chairman Jang and former Chairman Han cannot resolve this issue through politics?" and stressed, "The fact that the Ethics Committee and the Party Affairs Audit Committee are degenerating into tools for eliminating and purging political rivals is evidence that healthy politics has disappeared within our party." He added, "The role of the People Power Party is to rein in the runaway behavior of the Lee Jaemyung administration and present alternatives, so it is very regrettable to see the party engaged in a family feud."

On Chairman Jang’s absence from the meeting between ruling and opposition party leaders proposed by President Lee Jaemyung, he said, "I found it extremely frustrating. Of course the opposition leader should have gone," and added, "The opposition leader should have said what needed to be said in front of the people."

On the possibility of an electoral alliance with the Reform Party, he predicted, "I see the chances as very low. There would be very little justification for it."

Regarding plans to run for Gyeonggi Province governor, Yoo drew a line, saying, "This is the third time I am saying this, but I have absolutely no such thoughts," and added, "My remaining political calling is how to rebuild the conservative party and conservative politics that have collapsed."

When asked whether he would play a role in the local elections, he was cautious, saying, "With the party mired in internal strife just three months before the elections, I will have to wait and see for now what role there might be."