Main opposition party leader facing crisis

Conservative main opposition conservative People Power Party Chairperson Lee Jun-seok speaks during a Supreme Council meeting of the party at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Conflicts between party leader and presidential contenders deepen ahead of primary

By Jung Da-min

Conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) Chairperson Lee Jun-seok is facing a leadership crisis while the party is preparing for its primary to select its candidate for the presidential election, slated for next March. The PPP is planning to select eight among the current 14 presidential contenders on Sept. 15 through a first-stage cut-off, and then four from those eight on Oct. 8. The PPP’s presidential candidate will be selected on Nov. 9 at the party convention.

Lee, who was elected the party chairman two months ago, is tasked with running the primary to lead it to a victory in the presidential election, but his leadership is already being questioned, as his conflicts with the party’s presidential contenders are deepening over the details of the primary.

With his election, there were high expectations that Lee would bring a wind of change to political circles, as he is the youngest leader ever of a mainstream political party in Korea’s modern political history.

Conflicts between Lee and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the party’s leading candidate, who joined the PPP in late July, are especially raising concerns among the party members, who say that internal conflicts among the party members give negative images of the party to the public.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading presidential contender of the conservative main opposition People Power Party, speaks to reporters after paying tribute to former President Kim Dae-jung at the National Cemetery in Seoul’s Dongjak District, on Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the late president’s death. Yonhap

Lee, a 36-year-old politician who has never been elected as a lawmaker, is in conflict with other party members, including former Jeju Provincial Governor Won Hee-ryong. Won claimed that Lee told him in a recent phone conversation that Yoon will soon be “sorted out.” Lee refuted Won’s claim by releasing a transcript of that part of the phone conversation on Facebook, early Wednesday, and saying that what Lee had meant was that the conflicts between Yoon and Lee will be settled.

Former Jeju Provincial Governor Won Hee-ryong, a presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party, speaks during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday, calling for Lee to disclose the full content of a phone conversation between the two. Won had claimed earlier that Lee had told him in the conversation that Yoon would soon be “sorted out.” In response, Lee released a written transcript of that part of the phone conversation. Yonhap

But controversy is still mounting not only over the disputes between Lee and Won, but over Lee’s leadership, as many PPP members have expressed displeasure over Lee’s contentiousness and superfluous remarks.

Also, Lee has been at odds with Yoon over Yoon’s participation at policy debate sessions of the presidential contenders, organized by the party’s committee in charge of primary preparations. As Yoon’s camp refused to participate in the first debate event set to be held Wednesday, the PPP canceled the event.

It was not the first time that Yoon has refused to participate in events organized by the party’s committee for primary preparations. On Aug. 4, the committee organized a volunteer activity in a working-class neighborhood near Seoul Station, but four of the biggest names ― Yoon, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chief Choe Jae-hyeong, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo and former four-term lawmaker Yoo Seong-min ― skipped the event, citing personal reasons.

Some political watchers say that the conflicts between Lee and the presidential contenders of the party are part of leadership struggles inherent to politics. Shin Yul, a political science and diplomacy professor at Myongji University, said that conflicts between a party leader and the presidential contenders have also been observed in previous presidential elections, though he said that the conflicts between Lee and the current presidential contenders of the PPP seem more complicated, as there is no dominant party faction, unlike in the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), whose main faction consists of the backers of President Moon Jae-in.

“Additionally, the conflicts between Lee and the presidential contenders of the PPP are also attributable to Lee’s communication style of issuing many statements and having many media interviews. Lee’s straightforward communication style could be a strength but it is creating problems,” Shin said.

But Shin also said that Lee’s leadership will not be a critical factor in the next presidential election, as it will be the presidential candidate of the party, once selected through the primary, who will actually lead the party.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said that the diverging political interests of the party leader and presidential contenders have led to the creation of conflict among them.

“For Lee, he wants to control the primary so that he can receive a hero’s welcome if the PPP wins the next presidential election,” Lee said. “For Yoon, he is feeling a sense of crisis that he could lose the primary, as he does not have a high enough standing in the PPP, as he joined the party only a few weeks ago.”

Main opposition party leader facing crisis
Source: Buhay Kapa PH