Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate from the Reform Party, officially announced on the 22nd that he would not unify with Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party.
Although he has expressed his intention to complete the presidential race several times, the proposal for unification centered around candidate Kim Moon-soo suggests that he is drawing a clear line.
The candidate held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly communication hall that afternoon and said, "In this presidential election, I, Lee Jun-seok, and the Reform Party will surely win in the name of Lee Jun-seok and the Reform Party."
He added, "The ballot that you, the people, will receive will clearly show the name of No. 4, Reform Party Lee Jun-seok."
The candidate asserted, "There is absolutely no reason to overturn what I said today."
The candidate criticized, "People who insulted me about unification these past few days are making this election a mess," and added, "Those who used to insult me four years ago after leaving the People Power Party are now begging for unification."
The candidate remarked, "People keep bringing up the expense issue, but whether we unite or not, expenses cannot be compensated," and added, "I don't know what logic those bringing up expense issues are using."
He also stated that he had a short conversation the previous day with political broker Myung-tae Kyun and added, "It was a short conversation, and many people might expect us to have discussed unification, but I acted in the exact opposite way today, so it has no meaning now."
The candidate said, "Recent opinion polls show that the 'strategic choice of Lee Jun-seok' is the only winning equation that can surpass candidate Lee Jae-myung."
He further stated, "The reason we are not shaken by external temptations and pressures is that we have a vision for the Republic of Korea we want to create."
He continued, seemingly targeting Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party of Korea, "The world we wish to create is not like the tyrannical world of Emperor Commodus, who mocked citizens for pointing out mistakes despite clearly knowing his claims were wrong," and emphasized, "It is not the era of an extreme dictator who has seized the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, but a world where various parties collaborate centered around the president for reasonable governance."
The candidate added, "The world we want to create is not the world of a tyrant who declared martial law."
The candidate urged, "Just as the foolish martial law proclaimed late at night was lifted in just a few hours, 12 days is sufficient time to bring down two colossal towers," and requested, "Just as President Roh Moo-hyun always chose to face challenges directly, I hope you will attempt to break through directly with Lee Jun-seok this time."
The candidate promised, "I will respond not with a change of regime, but with genuine power transfer, the restoration of reasonable centrist politics based on principles, and a new government that persuades the people solely with competence."