'Right-flank competition will intensify'
'My perspective changed after becoming Dongtan's lawmaker'
Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok said Friday he intends to keep as much distance as possible from what he called the "legal clique" — a term for politicians who exploit the law for personal gain, often applied to those with legal backgrounds — and their feuds in the National Assembly.
Lee made the remarks during an appearance on YTN Radio's "Jang Seong-cheol's News Myeongdang," saying his perspective on politics had shifted since becoming the lawmaker for Dongtan.
"Dongtan's per capita GDP could reach $110,000 next year depending on how you calculate it," he said. "People in a city centered on science and engineering, on the front lines of the technology competition with China, and with the highest birth rate in the country have very little interest in what legal technicians are up to."
He added that "the most unproductive space is one where politics becomes a kind of sport," and said he wished the legal clique would disappear from the political arena.
"After 15 years in politics, I can see that people are utterly fed up with the obsession over sending someone to prison or desperately trying to stay out of prison yourself," Lee said. "For young people, the real issues are housing policy and childbirth support — yet less than 5 percent of what the National Assembly deals with touches on those things."
Looking ahead to the next general election, Lee predicted fierce competition among conservative contenders for the so-called right flank. "Conservative parties follow a pattern," he said. "Those who position themselves on the right eventually get pushed out by those even further right — and the far right gets pushed out by the extreme far right."
"Ultimately, the extreme far right gets voted out," he added. "Those on the right may not feel it coming, but they will end up drinking saltwater."
Asked about recent suggestions that People Power Party lawmakers Lee Jin-suk and Kim Tae-gyu are threatening party leader Jang Dong-hyeok's position, Lee said the party leader "has no choice but to keep competing with the right."
"One has a long career as a broadcast journalist, and the other is a former judge — both have their own appeal," he said. "The competition on the right can only grow more intense."
On independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, Lee said he reminded him of former PPP leader Hong Joon-pyo. "People tend to grow to resemble the person they originally disliked," Lee said. "Hong Joon-pyo has always been good at playing the sniper role. I wonder if Han is heading in a similar direction."
Still, Lee said he agreed with Han's pledge to show leadership once the national audit wraps up. "Of course he should," he added.
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