Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok on the 3rd said of the People Power Party leadership under Jang Dong-hyeok deciding to expel former leader Han Dong-hoon, "(Jang) talks about unity outwardly, while saying he will unite after leaving out those who could become his potential rivals."
Lee, appearing that morning as a speaker at a forum hosted by Alternative and Future, a gathering of first- and second-term People Power Party lawmakers held at the National Assembly members' office building, stated accordingly. He said, "Among South Korean politicians, there are very few who have led both the No. 1 and No. 2 parties, and there is a sentiment only they feel," adding, "Half the people who cling on say at every meal, 'Leader, next is you.' Then you can't help but be brainwashed."
He continued, "Coincidentally, leader Jang and former leader Han Dong-hoon would have felt this, and leader Hwang would have felt it too," and said, "I remember every strategic move leader Hwang made to sideline former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min ahead of the 2022 general election. I don't know if he expects a different outcome while making the same choices as leader Hwang, but a similar result will come."
Regarding former leader Han Dong-hoon's situation, he said, "It appears he is in a period of anger right now," but added, "Former leader Han is smart, and once the anger subsides, he will make a very coolheaded judgment." Citing the case of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, he said, "Mayor Oh also went through a period of anger and is now doing politics in a stable way. That process comes to everyone."
Lee said, "Whether the People Power Party wins or loses the election, it is hard to see the result as being because of Han Dong-hoon's expulsion," adding, "Even if you expel him, you can win if you have a reform agenda, and even if the former leader is there, you lose if there is no reform."
On conservative reform plans, he said, "From now on, the elderly and the traditional Yeongnam support base will shrink, and support from younger generations will balance out. I hope there is structural thinking about what space to give them," adding, "We have to coolly see how far the right can take in terms of discourse. To get support to 51%, you must unconditionally abandon election-fraud theories and the Park Chung-hee illusion."
On proposals for an electoral alliance between the People Power Party and the Reform Party to win the local elections, Lee drew a line. He said, "During leader Jang's hunger strike, I suggested that if his health deteriorated, we should put him in an ambulance and go to the presidential office. But when former President Park Geun-hye's end came, it left a sense of emptiness," adding, "If you set a hypothesis, you work with those you can work with. Yoon Suk-yeol also said he would do it and then changed his tune, didn't he?"