DP candidate calls on PPP to expel ex-President Yoon from party

Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung called on the People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday to immediately expel former President Yoon Suk Yeol from the party, criticizing him as a “military coup leader.”

Lee’s call came a day after the PPP’s candidate Kim Moon-soo said he was not considering expelling Yoon who was ousted over his short-lived martial law imposition in December and now faces criminal charges of leading an insurrection.

“The People Power Party must immediately expel military coup leader Yoon Suk Yeol now,” Lee said during a campaign rally in Busan, about 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. “If the People Power Party respects the basic liberal democratic order from the Constitution, it must apologize a hundredfold over the military coup.

“Is the People Power Party a conservative party as it is called? Is it a democratic party?” Lee questioned. “That party has to now choose between the two choices of changing or being kicked out.”

Meanwhile, Lee told reporters that he expected the election to be determined by a slim margin despite rosy forecasts for the DP candidate who has been leading in the polls by a wide margin.

“Our goal is a ‘certain victory’ not an ‘overwhelming victory,’” he said.