On the 4th, Joon-seok Lee, the presidential candidate of the Reform Party, regarding the impeachment decision of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, said, "If they could only be confused at the decisive national crisis moment, their era is over." He also targeted Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, calling him "a politician symbolizing the old era."
The candidate stated at an emergency supreme council meeting held immediately after the Constitutional Court's decision to uphold the impeachment of former President Yoon, "When I was the leader of the People Power Party, the conservative party won every election it participated in. Since Joon-seok Lee was ousted, the People Power Party has become a party that consecutively loses in every election," and added, "Those who have wavered in seeking appeal to the hardline conservative forces considering political pros and cons should now allow youth, conviction, and boldness to pave the way."
He also pointed out, "If the public has revealed its demand to change the direction of state governance through elections, the ruling party and the president should have followed that. However, they have fallen into the delusion that all of this was due to electoral fraud, and that all of this was the fault of a party leader sabotaging from within, leading to today's situation."
Regarding the Constitutional Court's ruling to uphold the impeachment of former President Yoon, he assessed it as "a solemn decision document that must put an end to all delusions for the political world." He continued, "From today, the ignorant political forces that use the language of anti-intellectualism, such as electoral fraud and the 'enlightenment decree,' must completely disappear from the public discourse with Yoon Suk-yeol."
He also aimed at Lee Jae-myung, saying, "A president resulting in delusions that a sovereign wealth fund should be established to create corporations like Nvidia for the public to share fairly should not come to power."
He said, "This time, we must select a stable president who can properly complete their term and a clean president with no judicial controversy. We need to elect a president who can show us the hopeful future of how we will change by 2030."
The candidate remarked to reporters regarding the People Power Party producing two impeached presidents, "The cause is clear. It is because they turned a blind eye to public sentiment and tried to appeal only to the voices of hardline conservatives," adding, "The People Power Party will not be able to escape that inertia in the future."
He initially drew a line on the possibility of unifying with the People Power Party and the conservative camp's candidate, stating, "(The People Power Party, which opposed the impeachment related to the martial law) are people we can never entrust the fate of the Republic of Korea to," and noted, "I believe those people should step down now. It seems quite difficult to request an alliance from the forces I called to step down."
Regarding Lee Jae-myung, he stated, "There is a duty to protect the national interest of the Republic of Korea in the global environment. I do not believe that a politician like Lee Jae-myung, symbolizing the old era, possesses that capability," and argued, "He will reveal his limitations in this presidential election."
The Reform Party, after the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, shifted to a candidate-centered central party election committee as soon as the 21st early presidential election was confirmed, entering into 'early presidential election' mode. Previously, the Reform Party elected this lawmaker as its presidential candidate well before the ruling on the impeachment trial of former President Yoon, on the 18th of last month. The candidate will have 'priority in party affairs' to ensure smooth election tasks, holding all authority over the party's activities to lead the movement for an early presidential election.