Rash remarks by PPP's Lee Jun-seok bring backlash

Rash remarks made over the weekend by Lee Jun-seok, the suspended chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), after the PPP appointed a new temporary leader are drawing backlash from party members.

Lee Jun-seok, the suspended chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), sheds tears in a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Rash remarks made over the weekend by Lee Jun-seok, the suspended chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), after the PPP appointed a new temporary leader are drawing backlash from party members.

In an emotional press conference held at the National Assembly on Saturday afternoon, Lee called out President Yoon Suk-yeol and his faction in the PPP as he protested the party's new emergency leadership system, which he views as "absurd" and a move to oust him.

This marked Lee's first public appearance in 36 days since the PPP's ethics committee suspended his party membership for six months over allegations of sexual bribery and a cover-up attempt.

Lee vented his anger and said that during the presidential and local election campaigns, he was told by people that Yoon's faction had called him "that punk" numerous times at gatherings behind his back.

"Throughout the presidential election process, my heart was more bitter than you could imagine over having to run around as the party chairman to help make a person who called me 'that punk' president."

But he said he had restrained himself, trying to persevere to win the March 9 presidential and June 1 local elections.

"In retrospect, I was the man who sold dog meat while waving a sheep's head," he said.

Lee pointed to a lack of agenda and the divide within the party and said, "I think that a PPP that is not loyal to the people but to the institution should be burned down."

He added, "If the messages sent by the president to the floor leader are lambasted by the people, it is not a crisis of the party, but a crisis of the president's leadership."

On July 26, PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong was photographed on his phone during a National Assembly session, checking messages from the president that took a jab at Lee. Kweon, a close aide to Yoon who had served as acting chairman of the PPP after Lee's suspension, stepped down from the role to take responsibility for the uproar the leaked texts caused, as it is unheard of for the president's private messages to be exposed in such a manner.

Lee even showed tears at one point during the press conference.

"I apologize to the people and party members," said Lee, adding he feels a lot of "self-blame seeing the people who supported the PPP three times in a row in the major elections turn their backs on conservatives again."

His press conference was telling of the ongoing internal divide within the PPP between a faction led by close confidents of Yoon and those who are not.

Since the press conference, party members openly criticized Lee for crossing the line and pointed out that it was his sexual bribery scandal that brought him to this position.

PPP Rep. Kim Mi-ae shot back in a Facebook post Sunday, "President Yoon is not a person to be disparaged through a dog meat analogy."

She added, "It wasn't anyone's fault but his own that he received disciplinary action from the ethics committee. Why doesn't he speak about that?"

PPP Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, a former floor leader and a candidate to become the party's next chief, likewise countered Lee's remarks and added, "As I reflect on the conflicts experienced during the past presidential election, I hold a sincere wish that there will be no such turbulence again."

Na Kyung-won, a former four-term PPP lawmaker, wrote on Facebook Sunday, "I want to tell Chairman Lee, please stop. Yesterday's press conference went too far."

On July 8, the PPP's ethics committee decided to suspend Lee's party membership for six months over allegations that he accepted sexual services paid for by a businessman in 2013 and abetted in an attempt to destroy evidence related to the incident. Lee maintained his innocence and has blamed party members close to Yoon of trying to oust him.

Since then, Lee has spent most of his time touring the country, meeting with local party members and venting his frustrations on social media.

Last Tuesday, the PPP revised its party charter to allow for an emergency response committee in a national committee meeting and named Rep. Joo Ho-young, a five-term lawmaker, as the interim party chief.

This came amid concern over a leadership vacuum within the party, continued internal bickering and declining approval ratings for the president, who marks his 100th day in office on Wednesday.

In turn, Lee filed for a court injunction to block the party's switch to the new leadership system on Wednesday. A hearing will take place this week.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]