Lee Yang-soo, Secretary General of the People Power Party, urged Kim Moon-soo, the party's presidential candidate, who has rejected the party-led unification, saying, "Drive out the sycophants now."
On the same day, the Secretary General stated on his Facebook, "I want to believe that the transformation of the straight-laced Kim Moon-soo into the cunning Kim Moon-soo is not due to his greed but because of the sycophantic lackeys surrounding him," adding, "Whether that is true or not, I want to believe so."
He said, "Otherwise, it is too tragic that his life, which has endured harsh torture, resisted injustice, and upheld the great cause, has been in vain," and added, "His life story, having lived with integrity as a member of the National Assembly, governor, and Minister, while not succumbing to corruption, is very empty."
He also added, "I sincerely pray that you will drive out the sycophants now and listen to the true public sentiment to show us the image of the straight-laced Kim Moon-soo we believe in."
Earlier, candidate Kim Moon-soo reiterated his stance that he cannot comply with a forced unification with independent presidential candidate Han Duck-soo during a general meeting of lawmakers.
In response, Kwon Young-se, the emergency committee chairman, criticized the candidate, saying, "This is very disappointing," and some lawmakers also expressed their opposition. After his public remarks, candidate Kim did not attend the closed-door meeting and left the National Assembly.