"Just a Judgment Day for the Regime" vs "Opposition's Presence at Risk" Conflicting Interpretations Among 야 Over 'Yoon Seok-yeol 1st Place'

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman: "Yoon Seok-yeol Cannot Be Seen as an Opposition Politician"
Jang Je-won: "Yoon Seok-yeol Sweeps 'Anti-Moon Sentiment'... Does the Main Opposition Party Have a Reason to Exist?"

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 9th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's ranking first in the next presidential candidate preference poll has sparked mixed interpretations within the opposition party. While the party leadership dismissed it by saying, "He cannot be considered an opposition politician," some voices have warned, "Prosecutor General Yoon has swallowed up the main opposition party."

On the morning of the 12th, at the party's emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly, Chairman Kim stated, "I have thought about how such a phenomenon (ranking first in support polls) could have occurred, considering that Prosecutor General Yoon belongs to this government."

He continued, "As Prosecutor General Yoon himself has always emphasized, he has consistently said that he performed his duties fairly according to the law and has declared that he would devote everything to that," he stressed.

He added, "If everyone sincerely performs their duties according to their roles, they should show a cooperative attitude. If some deliberately push with personal political feelings, situations like the current one will inevitably continue to appear, and I warn against that," he pointed out.

However, Chairman Kim showed a cautious stance regarding classifying Prosecutor General Yoon as an opposition presidential candidate. He explained, "The high public support for a prosecutor general belonging to the current government means who among the government is most trusted by the people," and "Just because Prosecutor General Yoon has high support does not mean he can be considered an opposition politician."

The surge in Prosecutor General Yoon's support is interpreted as a reflection of the public's distrust of the government and ruling party, not as including him in the opposition camp.

Jang Je-won, People Power Party lawmaker / Photo by Yonhap News

However, some within the party warn that "People Power Party may find it difficult to exist as the main opposition party."

On the same day, People Power Party lawmaker Jang Je-won wrote on his Facebook, "The Yoon Seok-yeol syndrome has struck the political landscape," adding, "I have previously stated that the figure 'Yoon Seok-yeol' would act as a strong centrifugal force on People Power Party and the broader opposition, and it has become reality. The numbers prove it."

He continued, "Prosecutor General Yoon has swallowed up the main opposition party," and questioned, "The raison d'?tre of a political party is to create a government, but can People Power Party exist as a political party under these circumstances?"

He explained, "The combined support for Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung recorded 40.6%. Meanwhile, the unaffiliated Yoon Seok-yeol swept the 'anti-Moon Jae-in sentiment' alone, far surpassing People Power Party's support rate."

Lawmaker Jang pointed out that none of the top six candidates in current support polls belong to People Power Party and strongly criticized, "Chairman Kim Jong-in is not showing any sense of crisis but only waving his characteristic 'minus hand'."

He added, "It is time to find a new breakthrough. What Chairman Kim should do now is not to create a 'party following Kim Jong-in's spirit' but to build the 'only platform for deciding the presidential candidate' through opposition unity," he pointed out.

He argued, "The more Kim Jong-in's influence strengthens, the more the party will scatter due to the centrifugal forces of the presidential candidates," and "This will hand the presidency back to the Democratic Party."

Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by Hangil Research commissioned by Cookie News from the 7th to 9th among 1,022 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, the response supporting Prosecutor General Yoon was the highest at 24.7%. This was followed by Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon at 22.2% and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung at 18.4%.

This is the first time Prosecutor General Yoon has ranked first since being included in the survey subjects.

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