United Future Party, Kim Jong-in Card Again... Decision Possibly Today

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The United Future Party has officially reaffirmed its intention to recruit former Democratic Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in. It appears they could not ignore the appeal Kim holds as a symbol of 'economic democratization' and as a key to attracting the centrist voter base. With the nomination controversy coming to an end, the condition Kim set for 'resolving nomination aftereffects' has also been met.

Park Hyung-joon, co-chairman of the United Future Party's election committee, stated in an interview with Asia Economy on the morning of the 25th, "A decision will be made today or tomorrow." He added, "There is not much time left. A conclusion will be reached by this afternoon," and left open the possibility of recruiting Kim by saying, "If it happens, it happens; if not, then not."

The United Future Party has been pursuing the plan to recruit Kim as the election committee chairman since last month. However, recruitment stalled as Kim made 'resolving nomination aftereffects' a condition for accepting the position. His criticism of nomination issues in certain regions intensified internal party conflicts, leading to disturbances such as Kim Hyung-oh, the nomination committee chairman, resigning to take responsibility for withdrawing nominations. Ultimately, the situation was settled when Kim announced on the 16th that he would not take the election committee chairman role, but less than ten days later, discussions about recruiting him resumed.

This indicates the significant symbolic value Kim holds. In the interview with Asia Economy, Co-chairman Park also said, "Kim was the person who led the ruling party in the last general election, so bringing him into the United Future Party carries symbolic meaning." Kim’s image of reform and renewal makes him ideal for attracting centrist voters. Furthermore, internal nomination conflicts have significantly decreased compared to ten days ago. The Supreme Council partially accepted his demands by invalidating the nomination of Choi Hong, former CEO of Macquarie Investment Management, who had been criticized by Kim for 'sacheon' (nomination manipulation).

However, it remains uncertain whether Kim will accept the current co-chairman election committee system as requested by the United Future Party. In a statement, Kim said, "Representative Hwang Kyo-ahn mentioned the joint election committee system with multiple chairpersons again, and I responded, 'If that is the case, I do not understand why you are trying to recruit me. I hope you all work together well.'" The nomination of former North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho for Gangnam-gap, which Kim had criticized as a 'national disgrace,' has not been canceled. On the contrary, Representative Hwang visited Tae’s campaign office on the 22nd and encouraged him by calling it a 'preemptive unification.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.