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Lee Jun-seok stumps hard against main parties' candidates in Daegu

Published: 13 May. 2025, 20:09 Updated: 13 May. 2025, 20:16

Reform Party's presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok answers questions from reporters during his campaign in Daegu on May 13. [YONHAP]

Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate for the minor conservative Reform Party, slammed the People Power Party's (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo on Tuesday, calling him "a guaranteed runner-up" and urging him to "step down if he really thinks that the martial law was wrong."

The utterances came during Lee's returning visit to Daegu on Tuesday, just three days after registering his candidacy, to focus on rallying the conservative voters of the Gyeongsang region.

“A vote for Kim is not only a wasted vote, but also one that offers no vision for the future,” he told reporters at Kyungpook National University. “I may finish first or third, but a vote for Kim guarantees only second place. If I were a voter, I’d invest in Lee Jun-seok, a candidate who can defy [Democratic Party] Lee Jae-myung’s populism.”

The 40-year-old candidate also took aim at Kim’s electoral track record, recalling his 2016 defeat to former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum in Daegu’s Suseong District.

“The citizens of Daegu already decided he wasn’t fit to serve even a single term in the National Assembly. Nearly nine years later, old water cannot become new again," Lee said.

Addressing Kim’s apology on Monday evening over former President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of marital law on Dec. 3, 2024, Lee went even harder.

Reform Party's presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok in Daegu on May 13 as part of his campaign [YONHAP]

“If he truly believes it was wrong, he should immediately expel former President Yoon Suk Yeol from the party and resign as the presidential candidate. After all, his candidacy was supported by the very anti-impeachment faction that backed Yoon,” Lee said.

Kim earlier declined to support calls to expel Yoon, saying it would be “inappropriate.” To that end, Lee responded, “That’s the essence of Kim’s double identity. He’s a candidate wearing not one, but three sheep’s heads.”

The remark references Lee’s previous criticism of pro-Yoon PPP figures as hypocritical, using a Korean idiom that refers to double-sided people with hidden intentions.

In a Facebook post, Lee also wrote, “Those who speak of loyalty to Yoon — have they ever once thought about loyalty to the people?”

People Power Party's (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo gives a speech in Daegu on May 13. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Amid speculation that the appointment of Lee ally Kim Yong-tae as the PPP’s emergency committee chair could signal a future merger between the two camps, Lee dismissed the notion during a radio interview Tuesday.

“Kim knows my personality well. He wouldn’t even suggest something like that," Lee said.

In Daegu, Lee also brushed off several questions about unifying with Kim, saying, “Please refrain from bringing him up.”

With all three major candidates visiting Daegu on the same day, Lee emphasized generational change. Speaking in front of Chilseong Market, he said, “Lee Jae-myung’s economic policies, like investing hundreds of trillions of won in AI as a solution, show he’s stuck in Park Chung Hee-style thinking. The progressive bloc needs to shake off its Park Chung Hee complex and propose policies that are relevant to today’s world.”

Major presidential candidates, from left: Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party; Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party; and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party [YONHAP]

At Kyungpook National University, Lee engaged with students over lunch, asking about regional sentiments and local business prospects. When a merchant at Chilseong Market noted that Lee looked tired but seemed stronger, the candidate responded, “That’s a relief. I’ll keep working hard.” Some vendors urged him, “Just beat Lee Jae-myung.”

During a policy roundtable with the medical associations of the Daegu and North Gyeongsang region later on Tuesday, Lee criticized the Yoon administration’s medical school quota increase, saying, “The idea of pushing doctors to rural areas by lowering the expected income is fundamentally flawed and fails to understand the realities on the ground.”

He proposed policies such as legal immunity for doctors in cases of medical accidents and separating the health and welfare ministries to ensure no single group bears the burden alone.

Kim Hyun-chul, head of the Kim Young-sam Foundation and son of the former president, also declared his support for Lee on Facebook, likening him to his father’s “40s leadership doctrine” that championed young, capable politicians over the “old, corrupt political establishment.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SUNG JI-WON [[email protected]]