Lee Jun-seok Refused to Appoint New Secretary-General and Expected to Confront Yoon Seok-youl at Party Headquarters: Yoon's Key Aides at the Center of Conflict Again

[경향신문]

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok. National Assembly press photographers

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok will meet and confront the party’s presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl on the morning of January 6 at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Lee sought dialogue with Yoon after refusing the appointments of Kwon Young-se as secretary-general and Lee Chul-gyu as director of strategy and planning.

A key member of the People Power Party said over the phone, “Lee went to the fifth floor of the party building to meet with Yoon,” and explained, “He went to talk about the personnel appointments, the controversial meeting with young people the previous day, and the schedule to greet citizens on the subway.”

Yoon nominated Kwon Young-se as the party’s secretary-general and the director of the election campaign and Lee Chul-gyu as the director of strategy and planning and asked the party’s Supreme Council to pass a vote on his decision. However, Lee refused to put the appointments to a vote after raising issues with the nomination of Lee Chul-gyu.

The key party member said, “There were mix-ups from Yoon’s schedule to greet citizens on the subway the previous day, and the personnel issues seem to be affected by Lee Chul-gyu.” He further said, “Yoon’s key aides (referred to in Korean as Yoonhaekgwan) are still exerting their influence.”

Lee Chul-gyu has argued for Lee Jun-seok’s responsibility in the party’s recent problems. At the general meeting of the party’s lawmakers on January 3, Lee Chul-gyu read the details of a Q&A session Lee had with reporters. At the time, the main opposition party leader told reporters that if the party’s Supreme Council members Cho Su-jin and Kim Jae-won stepped down, he could appoint Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party to take their position.