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Right-wing firebrand Lee Jun-seok indicates intention to run for president if Yoon's impeachment upheld

Published: 16 Dec. 2024, 15:34

Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the center-right Reform Party at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday [NEWS1]

Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the splinter conservative Reform Party said he intends to run for president if President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment is upheld and an early presidential election is held.

Appearing on broadcaster JTBC, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on Saturday following the National Assembly's passage of the impeachment motion against Yoon, Rep. Lee responded to a question about his potential candidacy by saying, “I am seriously considering it.”

“From the perspective of a political party, I believe the Reform Party must present its vision and compete with other parties in the presidential election to grow and advance,” said Lee.

Lee also said that the Constitutional Court’s impeachment ruling is unlikely to take long. “If the impeachment decision is announced before the end of January, I won’t be able to run, but if it comes in February, I will be eligible to participate,” he said.

Born on March 31, 1985, Rep. Lee is 39 years old. Under the Constitution, presidential candidates must meet the eligibility criteria for National Assembly elections and be at least 40 years old on the day of the election.

If the president dies, resigns, or is disqualified, a presidential election must be held within 60 days of the event being finalized. This means if the Constitutional Court approves Yoon's impeachment and an early presidential election ensues, Lee can run as long as the presidential vote is held after March 30.

Given this timeline, if the Constitutional Court announces its ruling on impeachment before Jan. 31, Lee will be ineligible to run due to the age requirement. However, if the decision comes after that date, he will qualify to run for president.

Lee, who was ousted as conservative People Power Party (PPP) chief in 2022 over sexual bribery allegations, has often clashed with the pro-Yoon faction within the party.

The Harvard graduate was elected PPP chairman in June 2021, becoming the youngest-ever leader of the PPP and its previous incarnations at 36.

Young male voters in their 20s to 40s form his key political base, presumably due to Lee's often brazen antifeminist rhetoric.

In one such example, Lee told the Korea Economic Daily in 2021 that he believes that “women in their 20s and 30s have clearly developed a baseless victim mentality, thinking they are being discriminated against, through novels, films and other media.”

Lee had some choice words for Yoon and mainstream conservatives upon the president's impeachment.

“If I were to meet President Yoon again, I would tell him, ‘You thought you could do everything your way, and look where that got you,’” Lee said Saturday during an interview with BBC Korea at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul.

“This has set conservative politics in Korea back 45 years, and I despise that,” said Lee. “Conservative politics is no longer a vessel capable of holding the hearts of the people. We need to break this vessel and bring in a new one.”

“Having been in politics for nearly 13 years, there are times when I feel resentful toward the entire conservative camp,” Lee said.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]