“President Yoon is not likely to reach out to Lee Jun-seok,” says Kim Chong-in

Kim Chong-in (Jong-in), former chairman of the People Power Party’s emergency committee, returns to his office in Jongno-gu, Seoul after a meeting with former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok and Geum Tae-seop, currently preparing to launch the political party, New Choice, on November 10. Jo Tae-hyeong

On November 17, Kim Chong-in (Jong-in), former chairman of the People Power Party’s emergency committee said there was no possibility that President Yoon Suk-yeol would reach out to former party leader Lee Jun-seok, who is preparing to launch a new party.

Kim appeared on MBC radio Friday and made the statement saying, “When you calmly think about how Lee Jun-seok came to be in the current situation after the presidential election and the local elections, you have no choice but to rule out such possibilities.” He claimed it was unlikely for Yoon to restore his relationship with Lee given the fact that Lee was dismissed from party leader after disciplinary measures by the party’s central ethics committee in 2022.

“The People Power Party (PPP) discussing whether or not they should bring Lee Jun-seok back into the party shows that their attitude to politics itself is basically wrong,” Kim said, criticizing, “Lee Jun-seok was the former leader of the PPP and they took disciplinary action against him. If they thought they would be able to use such a person again later on, then they are failing in their political careers.”

As for the possibility of Lee Jun-seok forming a new political party with Geum Tae-seop, who is currently preparing to launch the political party, New Choice, Kim said, “I don’t think they will fizzle out and part like the third parties in the past,” and added, “From the start, former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop said he would focus on the Seoul metropolitan area, and I think Lee Jun-seok plans to concentrate on the Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do area, so if the two come together, I think they will be able to create considerable synergy.”

Kim Chong-in criticized the PPP innovation committee. “The innovation committee has spoken about quite a lot of things, and party leader Kim Gi-hyeon said he would give the committee full authority when it launched, but it is unclear as to what full authority actually means” he said, adding, “What the innovation committee is dealing with is rather distant from politics in real life, so I think it will be very hard to achieve the expected results.” In particular, the former emergency committee chairman claimed Ihn Yo-han’s request for sacrifices from the party leadership, senior members and key Yoon aides was “tough to imagine as a normal politician,” and said, “Forcing them to do that is the same as forcing them to quit politics.” “Would Kim Gi-hyeon be able to quit politics if they told him to quit now?” he asked.

As for incorporating Gimpo-si into Seoul, a project the PPP has been promoting, Kim Chong-in said, “I think there was something wrong when they analyzed the voter sentiment reflected in the by-election results in Gangseo-gu (district mayor),” and added, “It looks like they think there will be some benefit if they incorporate Gimpo into Seoul as a strategy in the elections in the greater Seoul area, but I don’t think it’s going to be much help.”