[News Today] ‘YOON MENTIONED NOMINATIONS’

[LEAD]
Controversy is escalating over the presidential office's involvement in election nominations. Reform Party Representative Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the People Power Party, alleges that president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol at the time influenced the selection of a district ward chief.

[REPORT]
Reform Party Rep. Lee Jun-seok, who used to head the People Power Party, says when Yoon Suk Yeol was president-elect in 2022, he mentioned nominations for a district ward chief and a city mayor.

Rep. Lee Jun-seok / Reform Party
He asked me to nominate specific candidates for city mayor. He also said it would be better to nominate someone else for district chief because the current candidates lack competitive edge.

Sources say the district ward chief mentioned by Lee was former Gangseo-gu District chief Kim Tae-woo.

However, Lee says he took Yoon's comments regarding nominations as usual consultation.