Reform Party's Lee Jun-seok rejects PPP's 'insulting' merger requests

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok made it official on Thursday that he hasn't the faintest intention to merge candidacies with the People Power Party (PPP), and said the PPP's request to do so is "insulting."

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on May 22. [NEWS1]

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok made it official on Thursday that he hasn't the faintest intention to merge candidacies with the People Power Party (PPP), and said the PPP's request to do so is "insulting."

“Voters will see the name Lee Jun-seok on their ballots clearly, and I will see victory as the Reform Party candidate at the end of the election,” said Lee during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday.

“Above all, I have a clear idea of the Korea I want to make, and I will not take any actions that are not conducive to that process,” Lee said, adding that he had blocked all PPP lawmakers who had contacted him.

“To eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding, I will not communicate with any member of the PPP regarding a candidacy merger in the future,” Lee said.

“What was insulting to me was that no one tried to preserve conservative politics and made me out as a traitor,” said Lee. “The very people from the PPP who sent me text messages with vulgar slander in 2022 and urged me to commit suicide in 2023 are now begging me, in 2025, to merge candidacies, then threatening me days later.”

Regarding Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, he added that the "Korea we dream of is not a world of irresponsible populists who think it's okay to spend the country's money lavishly."

"It's not a world of a tyrant like the Roman emperor Commodus, who ridicules citizens who point out his mistakes as fools, even though his claims are clearly wrong," Lee Jun-seok added.

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on May 22. [NEWS1]

“The world we are trying to create is not a world where, after ousting former President Yoon Suk Yeol, another Yoon wearing a blue jumper appears, and a little Yoon wearing red again," Lee said. "We want a Korea where an overwhelmingly new president is born who can boast to the world that he has achieved a political miracle."

“We will move forward until the end as long as the people do not give up their dreams," Lee said. "Just as we lifted the ignorant martial law declared in the middle of the night in just a few hours, 12 days is enough time to bring down the two giant towers.”

Lee also introduced one of his key policy agendas at a special election spotlight dialogue hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Amcham) at the Grand Hyatt Seoul earlier on Thursday.

Lee underscored the importance of deregulation as a driving force for industrial revitalization, addressing the “regulatory standard nation system” as one of his key policy agendas.

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok speaks during a special election spotlight dialogue hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Amcham) at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on May 22. [YONHAP]

The regulatory standard nation system aims to align Korea’s regulations with global standards by using leading economies as reference points.

“Take the cloud and data industry, for example,” said Lee during the Amcham event. “Under this system, Korea would use the United States as a benchmark. If a regulation doesn’t exist in the United States, it shouldn’t exist in Korea either.”

“Confusion caused by sudden policy changes seriously hinders long-term plans for companies,” Lee said. “I will introduce institutional devices for policy stability, such as an independent regulatory review committee, economic impact assessments for major bills and a dispute resolution mechanism to protect foreign investors.”

“I will lower the national corporate tax rate from 10 percent to 7 percent and give local governments autonomy over their local tax rates,” Lee explained. “If local governments lower their tax rates like Texas in the United States, they will be able to attract more companies and investors to local areas.”

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok speaks during a special election spotlight dialogue hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Amcham) at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on May 22. [YONHAP]

“The goal is to create a more attractive and predictable investment environment — one that encourages companies and talent not to leave Korea, but to return,” stressed Lee.

Lee also addressed his campaign strategy to appeal to moderate voters, prospects for conservative coalition-building, Korea’s approach to upcoming tariff negotiations with the United States and his economic vision centered on small government and regulatory reform.

Regarding setting a relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Reform Party candidate said, “I will talk about how open trade is beneficial to both countries and that tariffs cannot be the final solution,” and added, “I will approach it as rationally and tactically as possible.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]