LEE TO STEP DOWN FROM COMMITTEE POSTS

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The main opposition People Power Party faces another hurdle to its election committee after party chairman Lee Jun-seok and its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol met up in Ulsan and mended their ties. Lee has announced to step down from all committee posts amid conflict with Cho Su-jin who is the committee head on public relations.

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Lee Jun-seok said he will step down as co-standing chief of the presidential election committee adding he has no regrets. This comes just a day after his discord with committee communications chief Cho Su-jin was publicly exposed.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-seok(People Power Party Chair) : "The committee has lost its function. I would like to step down because unlike my intentions, I can’t play any role."

The latest conflict flared up during a committee meeting held two days ago. When Lee gave some pointers about committee operations, Cho refused to take his directions, saying she will only listen to candidate Yoon Seok-youl. Cho also reportedly said the party was not helping Yoon with false credential allegations involving his wife, and noted it was a message from the candidate. She also reportedly sent a YouTube clip criticizing Lee to multiple journalists, which further escalated the feud. Cho said she will apologize regardless of reasons but Lee asked for her next move regarding her committee position. While offering an apology, Cho was not clear about whether she would step down.

[Soundbite] Cho Su-jin(PPP Election Committee PR chief) : "I never went after any position or title. I never made any related requests."

Some 4 hours after Lee announced his resignation, Cho also stepped down from the campaign saying she will continue to serve and fight to achieve a transfer of power Ostensibly, the latest feud is one between two individuals. But some within the party believe it’s the outcome of running a massive election committee without fine-tuning its internal division of roles. Following repeated conflicts brewing within the committee, some party members demand the leadership resign en masse.