Lee Jun-seok

Lee Jun-seok
이준석
Leader of the New Reform Party
In office
20 January 2024 – 19 May 2024
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byHeo Eun-ah
Leader of the People Power Party
In office
11 June 2021 – 9 August 2022[1]
DeputyHan Ki-ho
(Secretary-General)
Preceded byHwang Kyo-ahn
Kim Gi-hyeon (interim)
Succeeded byJoo Ho-young (interim)
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
30 May 2024
Preceded byLee Won-wook
ConstituencyHwaseong B
Personal details
Born (1985-03-31) 31 March 1985 (age 39)
Seongdong, Seoul, South Korea
CitizenshipSouth Korean
Political partyNew Reform Party[2]
Other political
affiliations
GNP (2011–2012)
Saenuri (2012–2016)
Bareun (2017–2018)
Bareunmirae (2018–2020)
People Power (2020–2023)
Independent (2023–2024)
Alma materHarvard University (BA)
Signature
NicknameAndy Lee
李俊錫
Hangul
이준석
Hanja
李俊錫
Revised RomanizationI Junseok
McCune–ReischauerI Chunsŏk

Jun-seok Andy Lee (Korean이준석; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative New Reform Party since January 2024.

Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, during which he served as one of the 11-member Grand National Party's (later renamed Saenuri Party) Executive Leadership Council, the youngest member ever to sit on the Council.[3] After the impeachment of Park in 2016, he left the Saenuri Party and joined the centre-right conservative minor Bareun Party, of which he served as one of the party's Supreme Council members. The Bareun Party would merge into the Bareunmirae Party, and Lee's faction of that party later merged with the majority right-wing conservative Party to form the current People Power Party.[4]

In June 2021, the conservative People Power Party voted to select Lee Jun-seok as its leader, making him the youngest person in South Korean history to lead the main conservative bloc.[5] As leader of the People Power Party, Lee led his party to victory in the 2022 presidential election and the 2022 local elections. He has been noted for his staunch anti-feminism and support from South Korean idaenam.[6][7]

On 8 July 2022, Lee was given a six-month suspension from the People Power Party as the result of a bribery and prostitution scandal.[8] Lee was officially removed from party leadership on 9 August.[1] On 20 September, Police decided not to refer Lee to prosecution over sexual bribery charges.[9] On 7 October, Lee's party suspension was extended by a year by the party's ethics committee.[10] On 13 October, police decided not to refer Lee to prosecution over evidence destruction.[11]

His suspension from the People Power Party was removed on 2 November 2023, together with 3 other politicians' suspensions.[12] Since then, he has left the People Power Party to establish a new party, the New Reform Party.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Lee officially removed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Ex-PPP Chief Leaves Party, Declares Creation of His New Party". 27 December 2023.
  3. ^ 26-year-old grabs spotlight among new GNP leaders
  4. ^ "Who is the new young leader of conservative People Power Party?". 11 June 2021.
  5. ^ "South Korea Opposition Picks Harvard Graduate to Lead Push to Power". Bloomberg.com. 11 June 2021.
  6. ^ Arin, Kim (6 September 2021). "[Us and Them] Lee Jun-seok and the rise of anti-feminism". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Idaenam supports Lee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sexual bribery suspension, Hankyoreh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ [단독]경찰, 이준석 성접대 의혹 수사 불송치…알선수재 무혐의 결론. No Cut News (in Korean). 20 September 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference extra year suspension, JoongAng Daily was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Lee Jun-seok investigation hits another dead end". The Korea Herald. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference suspension removed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).