Lee Jun-seok, the Reform New Party’s presidential candidate, greeted citizens on the way to work at the Seonggeum intersection in Sejong on the 21st. He made it clear that there would be no alliance with the People Power Party (PPP), which suggested the possibility of such a coalition under the slogan ‘anti-Lee Jae-myung’. Lee criticized the PPP, saying, “These are the people who politically tried to assassinate me.”
During an appearance on KBS radio’s “Jungeoksisa,” Lee stated, “Would I respond to a simple political logic that suggests I need to join forces to stop Lee Jae-myung when these people have attempted to politically assassinate me before?” He added, “If I support them, what kind of politics have I been doing? The PPP is my enemy.”
This comes in response to some within the PPP proposing a ‘big tent’ movement to unite non-Lee Jae-myung figures inside and outside the Democratic Party, suggesting a possible candidate consolidation. Hong Joon-pyo, a second-round finalist in the PPP primary, stated on YTN radio that “Lee Jun-seok might be the most important person for a big tent strategy.”
Lee also addressed the comments made by Kwon Young-se, the PPP’s emergency committee chairman, who said, “We will open the party doors wide to those who left temporarily.” Lee rejected this, saying, “The PPP humiliated me by falsely accusing me of sex bribery, which was later proven to be unfounded, leading to my disgraceful expulsion through the ethics committee.” He criticized this portrayal as a light political conflict as secondary harm or worse.
When asked if he intended to complete the presidential race without merging with other candidates, Lee replied, “I will not just complete it; I will win.”
Regarding Na Kyung-won’s surprising elimination from the second stage of the PPP primary, Lee commented, “She was practically supported by former President Yoon Suk-yeol. If she is falling, it indicates Yoon’s influence is dwindling to zero in real-time.”