Former leader of the ruling People Power Party(PPP) Lee Jun-seok said on Sunday that he will set up a new party if President Yoon Suk Yeol does not change by the end of this year.

Lee made the pledge during a panel discussion in the southwestern city of Gwangju, saying that Yoon has not changed even after the ruling party suffered a crushing defeat to the main opposition Democratic Party(DP) in the by-election for chief of Seoul's Gangseo District last month.

Asserting that he now clearly knows the path he should take and will not repeat past mistakes, Lee said that the president is unlikely to change and he will therefore create a new party if no substantial reform is undertaken by December 27.

On that date, the National Assembly is scheduled to vote on launching special counsel probes into the Daejang-dong development scandal involving DP leader Lee Jae-myung and alleged stock manipulation by First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

The prospect of passage is drawing speculation over a veto of the probes by the president.

The former PPP chair added that he is not going to create a new party because he hates Yoon or wants to exact revenge on him, stressing that he intends to pursue political reform seriously.