Ruling party chief accuses president of verbal abuse

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 01:21

Politics

Ruling party chief accuses president of verbal abuse

Posted : 2022-08-16 16:58

Updated : 2022-08-17 09:03

People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok speaks during an interview with CBS at the broadcaster's studio in Yangcheon District, Seoul, Monday. Joint Press Corps

By Nam Hyun-woo

Ruling People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok has been launching an offensive against President Yoon Suk-yeol, posing a serious threat to the president, who is already suffering from dismal approval ratings, as he reaches his 100th day as the country's chief executive.

During a radio interview with broadcaster CBS on Monday, Lee said he would give President Yoon a 25 out of a scale of 100 for his managerial skills with regard to state affairs, saying that Yoon and his key associates in the party have been attempting to attack him. Lee said that Yoon would refer to him using a swear word, in a press conference on Saturday.

"(The way Yoon referred to me) served as a sort of instruction ordering his key associates to attack me," Lee said during the radio interview. "When people heard this (the way he referred to me), they thought that the president does not like Lee Jun-seok, so we can criticize him."

On Tuesday, Lee said in a radio interview with broadcaster MBC that "someone has asked me to resign from the party chairmanship, and I refused," and, "the presidential office is painting me as a liar by denying the fact that I had a meeting with Yoon to give him policy advice."

Lee, who is on the verge of losing his position as the ruling party chairman, has been spouting harsh criticism against Yoon and the PPP's mainstream faction close to the president since last week, after the party decided to transition to emergency leadership, which will automatically end Lee's chairmanship.

Lee's party membership was suspended last month by the PPP's ethics committee over allegations that he had accepted sexual services as a bribe in exchange for political favors, and attempted to destroy the evidence. Lee claims he is innocent and filed for an injunction against the PPP transitioning to emergency leadership.

The PPP is striving to prevent Lee's defiance from spilling over into negative public sentiment of the ruling bloc, causing the already low approval ratings of both Yoon and the party to drop further.

Rep. Joo Ho-young, who was named as the interim leader of the PPP emergency committee, told reporters Tuesday, "I hope Lee will consider how the public and party members will see this (his criticisms against the party and the president)."

President Yoon Suk-yeol responds to reporters' questions as he arrives at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of the presidential office

Yoon and the PPP are having a hard time finding a breakthrough in their stagnant approval ratings. According to Realmeter, Yoon's job approval rating inched up to 30.4 percent in a poll that surveyed 2,515 adults from Aug. 8 to 12, up from 29.3 percent a week earlier. During the same period, the PPP's support rating stood at 35.8 percent, the same as a week earlier. Further details of the survey are available at National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

Against this backdrop, Lee's criticisms of the president and his own party are overshadowing the administration's efforts to counter the slow economy, the record-high inflation and the delicate, changing geopolitical and diplomatic situation.

"The conflict Lee is causing is distracting the administration from focusing on pending state issues, weakening Yoon's grip on the state," an official from the ruling bloc said on condition of anonymity. "To pass pending bills related to the people's livelihoods, the ruling party needs cooperation from the opposition bloc, yet it is failing to find unity even within its own party."

While suspended Chairman Lee is planning to continue his crusade against the Yoon government, the PPP on Tuesday announced the members of the emergency committee and plans to hold its first meeting on Wednesday, heralding a deeper feud between its mainstream members and Lee.

namhw@koreatimes.co.kr