Woo Sang-ho: "If the People Power Party Concedes to Ahn Cheol-soo, It Will Be Absorbed"

"Amnesty Theory, Little Impact on Elections... A Calculus Like That of Political Merchants"

Woo Sang-ho, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea running as a candidate in the Seoul mayoral by-election, said that unifying the conservative opposition candidates "will not be easy." It is expected that the People Power Party will not yield to Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party.

On the 4th, Woo appeared via phone on BBS Radio’s 'Park Kyung-soo’s Morning Journal' and said, "If the opposition unifies their candidates, it would indeed be threatening. However, it will not be easy," adding, "For now, the People Power Party and candidate Ahn Cheol-soo seem somewhat different."

He cited the example of the 2011 Seoul mayoral election when Park Young-sun, then Minister of SMEs and Startups, and Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor, unified their candidacies, saying, "In terms of policy and direction, they were basically on the same side. They just belonged to different parties."

Woo said, "However, I have doubts about whether candidate Ahn Cheol-soo and the People Power Party really share the same views," and added, "Will the People Power Party give up their candidate to Ahn Cheol-soo, who is currently leading? I think it will not be easy."

He continued, "Since this Seoul mayoral election is a preliminary battle before the presidential election, if the People Power Party yields the candidacy to Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, the driving force for the People Power Party to lead the presidential race will be greatly diminished. If things go wrong, that party could be absorbed by Ahn Cheol-soo’s party."

Park Young-sun, a minister considered a strong candidate for the ruling party, and Park Joo-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker, have not yet announced their candidacy. Regarding this, Woo said, "It is frustrating, but I think they need to clarify their positions soon."

On questions about ruling party integration, he said, "When a crisis approaches, you first unify your support base, and then expand to the moderate spectrum," adding, "Currently, the Open Democratic Party’s approval rating has risen from about 4% to 6.5%, higher than the Justice Party. If we do not first unify with these supporters, it will be difficult to win the election."

Regarding the possibility of an electoral alliance with the Justice Party, he said, "We respect the Justice Party’s independent path, and I think there will be a time to reconsider once the election nears."

On criticism that Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon’s proposal for pardoning former presidents is intended to influence the election, Woo drew a line, saying, "I don’t think the issue of pardoning former presidents will have a significant impact on the April election. For example, those fighting for the release of former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye will not suddenly become supporters of President Moon Jae-in."

He added, "I don’t think the opposition camp will support Moon Jae-in just because this pardon is granted. So, calculating political gain from this is too much like a political merchant’s calculation." He also criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, saying, "He tends to interpret all matters only in terms of political advantage, calculation, and strategy."

Regarding the background of the pardon proposal, he said, "I don’t think Leader Lee Nak-yeon approached this issue solely with political calculation and strategy," adding, "As a national leader who even served as Prime Minister, he must have had some insight into the country’s ongoing conflicts and divisions."

He also said, "Rather than the two (President Moon Jae-in and Leader Lee Nak-yeon) having had detailed discussions on this issue, I guess it is possible that Leader Lee Nak-yeon suggested the necessity of a pardon."

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