CHOI JAE-HYUNG JOINS PPP

[Anchor Lead]

Former Board of Audit and Inspection chief Choi Jae-hyung has joined the People Power Party. He says the PPP must play a pivotal role in replacing the ruling party. Yoon Seok-youl has met with Ban Ki-moon.

[Pkg]

On Thursday, former BAI chief Choi Jae-hyung met with People Power Party chair Lee Jun-seok and made a decision to join the ruling bloc. He wants to transform politics as a member of a political party.

[Soundbite] Choi Jae-hyung(Former chief of BAI) : "In a situation when the entire nation is having a hard time, the number-one opposition party, the People Power Party, must play a pivotal role in replacing the ruling bloc."

Choi vowed to do his best to make South Korea a country where young people can live with hope. The move comes 17 days after his resignation from the BAI. Regarding accusations of the lack of political neutrality, he said it’s important to start designing the country’s future with like-minded people as soon as possible.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-seok(People Power Party chair) : "I’ll keep my eyes on our new member, Choi Jae-hyung, who has vowed to raise the alarm over the Moon Jae-in administration and help replace the ruling party."

With Choi, PPP has another contender for the upcoming presidential race. Yoon Seok-youl said earlier it’s not right to join a specific party as a way to make a political debut. Hearing the news about Choi, the former prosecutor general said he respects other’s choices. Yoon met with former U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon on Thursday morning. Yoon said they talked about how the former U.N. chief dropped out of a presidential race four years ago.