Jin Joong-kwon slams Lee Jun-seok for 'throwing his weight around' alongside Oh Se-hoon

Jin Joong-kwon, a special-appointment professor at Kwangwoon University, has sharply criticized Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok, accusing him of "throwing his weight around" by siding with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to attack independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon.

According to political circles Wednesday, Jin made the remarks Tuesday on the YouTube channel Sisajeonal TV, amid speculation about a possible alliance between Oh and Han following Oh's acquittal on appeal in a case involving allegations that a political operative paid his polling costs. Jin said Lee appeared to be "having quite an interesting dream" after the lawmaker tried to pour cold water on the idea by claiming Oh dislikes Han.

"Lee Jun-seok is right now clinging to Oh Se-hoon and throwing his weight around," Jin said. "He revealed his true intentions far too early and far too blatantly."

Jin said Lee "looks anxious," adding that the Reform Party cannot contest the 2030 general election on its own and that Lee now sees Oh as a financial backer. "He seems to think, 'If I join, that's conservative unity,'" Jin said.

He then asked, "But can conservative unity happen without Han Dong-hoon?"

Jin said Lee has become isolated even within the Reform Party after pushing out Heo Eun-a and more recently falling out with Cheon Ha-ram. "His favorability is low and his unfavorability is high," Jin said, adding that from Oh's perspective, Lee offers little political gain while demanding a great deal of energy — like a chicken rib, as the Korean expression goes.

Jin went on to say that Lee "needs a change of heart" if he wants to grow into a serious politician. "He may think Oh Se-hoon is this presidential election and the next one is his, but that is far too shallow. He is dragging the blameless Oh Se-hoon into this and throwing his weight around in a petty way," Jin said.

On Oh's prospects of winning the next presidential election, Jin said the public seems to feel that neither the Democratic Party nor Jang Dong-hyeok is the answer, and that Oh's emergence has generated genuine excitement. However, he noted that Oh lacks an internal support base within the party and needs to broaden his coalition.

Jin added that Oh faces inherent limitations as a local government chief. He estimated that the party currently has roughly 10 lawmakers aligned with Oh, about 20 with Han, around 10 with Jang, and another 20 or so who oppose Jang but are not aligned with Han. "Bringing all of them on board will not be easy," he said.

"He needs to go head-to-head with Jang at next year's party leadership convention and make his move," Jin said. "The situation calls for a proxy battle between a candidate who champions conservative reform and grand conservative unity — one who can appeal to the Greater Seoul area and moderate voters. If Oh cannot pull that off, he too will be pushed aside."