PPP TENSIONS CONTINUE

[Anchor Lead]

The People Power Party chief and the party's presidential nominee still can't figure out their differences. Lee Jun-seok still refuses to return to his duties, while Yoon Seok-youl says he'll just wait for Lee to come back. The atmosphere in the main opposition party has remained chaotic for days now.

[Pkg]

PPP chief Lee Jun-seok cancelled all his official events and headed to Busan. He has been traveling incognito since then. Two days ago, Lee met with former Rep. Chung Ui-hwa to discuss the election committee issue. On Wednesday, he visited the office of Chang Je-won, one of Yoon Seok-youl's closest aides. Lee's aides say he just wanted to encourage officials in the lawmaker's office, and that Chang was absent at the time. However, some believe Lee had ulterior motives. They suspect the PPP chief made the visit to express his frustration, because the lawmaker criticized him for trying to strengthen his influence over Yoon. Yoon, who wrapped up his tour of the Chungcheong region, says he's not going to contact Lee before he's willing to speak to him. The Presidential candidate appears less proactive when it comes to bringing the party leader back.

[Soundbite] Yoon Seok-youl(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "He's not ditching his responsibilities. He just went to Busan to refresh his mind."

The atmosphere within the PPP remains chaotic. Its floor leader, Kim Ki-hyun, secretary general Kwon Sung-dong and other influential members are split on whether Yoon should persuade Lee or whether the party chief should just come back on his own. Lee's officials say he has no plans to return to Seoul for now. He is currently visiting Suncheon in Jeollanam-do Province. With the standoff between the party leader and the presidential nominee escalating, PPP supporters are also showing signs of division. On Thursday, Yoon met with British ambassador to Korea Simon Smith, and had lunch with PPP senior advisers to hear the opinions of veteran politicians.