[Comprehensive] Labeled as "Obstacle" and "Rotten Blood" by the Far-Right... United Party's Strategy to Secure the Centrist Vote

Won Hee-ryong "Obstacle to Gathering Public Support"
Ha Tae-kyung "Must Remove Rotten Blood and Transfuse New Blood for Conservative Health"
Kim Geun-sik "Future of United Party Depends on Breaking with Taegeukgi"
United Party Approval Rating Drops After Rally Reversal

On the afternoon of the 15th, a rally condemning the Moon Jae-in administration was held in front of Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the occasion of the August 15 Liberation Day. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The United Future Party is distancing itself from the hardline conservative faction that participated in the 'August 15 Liberation Day Rally Condemning the Moon Jae-in Government,' including Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church. This comes as the Democratic Party of Korea labeled the rally as an 'extreme right-wing rally' and continued to press the United Future Party on its responsibility. Additionally, the party's previously rising approval ratings reversed and declined after the rally, raising concerns about losing moderate supporters.

Won Hee-ryong, governor of Jeju Province and a member of the United Future Party, appeared on KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' on the 21st and strongly criticized former Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo and former lawmaker Cha Myung-jin, who attended the Gwanghwamun rally.

Governor Won said, "It seems like they are intoxicated by the attention from the cameras and the applause, but rather, they are obstacles to the country moving in the right direction and gathering public support. If it were not serious, families would not be trying to stop and report them. We need to analyze that psychological state," he pointed out.

Regarding Pastor Jeon, he also said, "If you have love for the people, love means protecting the safety and lives of those you care about," and strongly criticized, "Many people are fighting desperately against the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), so what are they doing?"

On the same day, Ha Tae-kyung, a United Future Party lawmaker, wrote on his Facebook, "The COVID-19 issue is a matter of public health. It is not a conflict between ruling and opposition parties or left and right," and criticized, "Jeon Kwang-hoon's faction ignored warnings from quarantine authorities and held a large-scale rally, acting as a catalyst for the nationwide spread of COVID-19. They shot at the people and committed viral terrorism."

He continued, "The conservative personnel pool must also be replaced. The old ideological forces that argue left and right, ruling and opposition during the COVID-19 phase must be purged," emphasizing, "By expelling the rotten blood and transfusing new blood, conservatism will become healthier."

Kim Geun-sik, professor at Gyeongnam National University and chairman of the United Future Party's Songpa-byeong district in Seoul, also wrote on Facebook, "Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, who was close to former leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, is playing the role of an ‘X-man’ benefiting the Moon Jae-in government," and stressed, "The future of the United Future Party depends on whether it breaks ties with the extreme Taegeukgi faction."

Hwang Kyo-ahn (left), former leader of the Liberty Korea Party, is seen giving a speech on stage alongside Jeon Kwang-hoon, senior pastor of Sarang Jeil Church and general representative, during a rally hosted by the "National Struggle Headquarters for Moon Jae-in's Resignation" near the Blue House fountain on November 20 last year. / Photo by Yonhap News

There is a view that the United Future Party is distancing itself from the hardline conservative forces such as the Taegeukgi units who participated in the Liberation Day rally. This is because the Democratic Party has recently held the Liberation Day rally responsible for the resurgence of COVID-19 and pressured the United Future Party with responsibility, and the approval rating gap, which had been narrowing, widened again after the rally, creating a sense of crisis.

The Democratic Party has continued its offensive with the 'United Future Party responsibility theory.' Earlier, Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party, urged at the party's floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 18th, "Pastor Jeon must bear legal and moral responsibility for obstructing quarantine and spreading COVID-19," and "The United Future Party effectively condoned the August 15 rally. Apologize to the people."

Seol Hoon, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, also appeared on a radio broadcast at the time and said, "I think the United Future Party not only overlooked but rather encouraged the Gwanghwamun rally," emphasizing, "If they do not come forward with the determination to take responsibility for neglecting such a situation, it will be a big problem."

Moreover, Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party, at the Supreme Council meeting held on the 21st, defined, "This COVID-19 infection explosion started from some extreme right-wing groups and spread nationwide through the Gwanghwamun rally," and criticized, "It is truly incomprehensible that the United Future Party, conservative media, and some churches deny responsibility for the rally even as police officers dispatched to the rally have tested positive."

The approval ratings, which had been maintaining an upward trend recently, also could not avoid a reversal and decline after the rally.

According to a party approval rating survey conducted by Gallup Korea from the 18th to the 20th with 1,002 respondents, the Democratic Party recorded a 39% approval rating, rebounding 6 percentage points from the previous week, while the United Future Party dropped 4 percentage points to 23%, widening the gap to 16 percentage points.

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