Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Kae-hyuk New Party, attended the National Assembly plenary session on the 14th and answered questions from the press. He stated, “President Yoon mentioned endorsing a specific market candidate during the presidential transition period but later retracted that intention due to various circumstances.”
Returning from a business trip in Brazil and arriving at Incheon Airport, Lee explained to reporters that “a provincial party chairman once pleaded with the president, claiming that ‘Lee Jun-seok doesn’t follow the endorsement requests,’ which led the president to ask me to endorse a specific market candidate.” He added, “There’s also been talk about issuing endorsements for certain district leaders in Seoul due to existing candidates lacking competitiveness.”
Before attending the National Assembly plenary session that afternoon, Lee further explained to reporters that “in cases like the market elections, a provincial party chairman complained that the party leader keeps interrupting him, so I told President-elect Yoon that the provincial chairman’s actions were problematic, which led to a change in stance.” He remarked that this interaction represented “the level of communication possible between the party leader and the president-elect.” Regarding the mentioned market in a specific area, it is reported that President Yoon had opposed a candidate, and for the Seoul district leader, another candidate was endorsed per President Yoon’s differing view, leading to their election.
Lee also claimed that President Yoon interfered in the nomination process of An Cheol-soo from the People’s Power Party during the June 1, 2022 local elections while serving as the chairman of the presidential transition committee. In a conversation with the JoongAng Ilbo, Lee mentioned that when he asked President Yoon about An, Yoon said, “An Cheol-soo should be given the endorsement exclusively,” to which Lee argued there should at least be a primary. At the time, An was competing with former lawmaker Park Min-sik for a candidate position in the Bundang Gap by-election in Gyeonggi Province. Ultimately, as Park expressed his intention to withdraw, An received the sole endorsement, and President Yoon later appointed Park as the first Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
A recent controversy involves former lawmaker Kim Young-sun, who allegedly had strategic endorsement in the May 2022 Changwon Uichang by-election. Allegations from within the People’s Power Party recount that despite opposition from then party leader Lee, there was insistence on Kim’s endorsement. Lee commented, “If there’s something the prosecution needs to verify, I’d be willing to provide more definitive information than what’s currently known.”
Lee also addressed claims from political broker Myung Tae-kyun, asserting Lee sent a message stating “President-elect Yoon wants Kim Young-sun to go through a primary.” Lee countered that no such message exists, suggesting that Myung might have misunderstood and their conversation might have been in passing.
Concerning allegations about the Future Korea Research Institute conducting free opinion polls for him during the 2021 party convention, Lee clarified, “There were no opinion polls conducted for my benefit, nor were any results provided by me.”