Opposition parties People Power Party and the People’s Party are engaging in an escalating war of words, while putting down rumors of unification for the presidential election.

On Monday, Lee Jun-seok, head of the People Power Party, hit back at Ahn Cheol-soo’s barbed comments, claiming it was the People’s Party that was “immoral” during the Seoul mayor election held last year.

“Talking about the candidate in third place is now called ‘immoral,’” Lee said in a Facebook post, referring to Ahn who has been coming in third following other candidates Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol in the polls.

“I feel sorry for the third-place candidate who is trying to attract interest through blunt words,” he wrote. Referring to the Seoul mayoral election held last year, he said, “It was immoral of your party (People’s Party) to use rumors to try to win a unification at the time.”

Lee has been attacking Ahn for two consecutive days. A day before, Lee wrote on social media, “Though Ahn says he is not interested in unification, all he talks about is making one. His head must be full of it, responding to Ahn’s earlier remark that “(Unification) will not be possible as Lee is strongly opposed to it.”

 

Following Lee’s Sunday post, Shin Na-ri, deputy spokesperson for the People’s Party election committee, made an official announcement that said “Lee, filled with his own inferiority complex, should immediately stop his immoral and absurd statements.”

“Everyone knows who wanted unification more in the Seoul mayor election last year,” Shin said, referring to the then-candidate, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Shin added, “How can (Lee) mock Ahn who helped then-candidate Oh’s election campaign for the greater cause which was the change of power?”

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)