[Yeouido Essay] Why Did Woo Declare War on Park Young-sun on the Last Day of the Lunar New Year Holiday?

Woo Sang-ho "Park Young-sun's Pledge Not Democratic Party-like" Criticism
Park Young-sun, "What Does Being Democratic Party-like Mean? We Must Not Forget We Are the Ruling Party... See You in the TV Debate"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] "We intend to avoid a slugfest from the start and show advanced politics, unlike the conservative opposition."

On the 6th, Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea said this with a smile in response to a reporter's question about how he takes Rep. Kim Jin-ae of the Open Democratic Party's advice that "you need to be tough in the party primary and why don't you attack Park Young-sun."

During the phone call, Rep. Woo explained, "When the primary intensifies, (attacks) may proceed, but the start is 'One Team'." He added, "Former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun emphasizes urban planning, and I cannot say that policy is bad." However, he emphasized, "I could not agree with the opinion that we should embrace Rep. Geum Tae-seop, who left the Democratic Party, and I was upset about that part."

The 'sibling' setting of Park Young-sun and Woo Sang-ho, who have emphasized their 'older sister-younger brother' relationship, is shifting into a 'competitor' mode as the Democratic Party's primary intensifies.

On the 14th, Rep. Woo held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and criticized former Minister Park's core pledge as "not befitting the Democratic Party." Opening the floor by saying, "From today, I will start a full-fledged policy verification of former Minister Park, a Democratic primary candidate," Rep. Woo criticized Park's '21-minute compact city' plan as "a weak pledge limited to a specific area" and said it was uncharacteristic of the Democratic Party. He explained that there are still no plans to lead the lives of all Seoul citizens in a better direction in areas such as labor, jobs, environment, and balanced development between Gangnam and Gangbuk.

Regarding Park's pledge of a 4.5-day workweek, he pointed out, "Former Minister Park said she regrets voting in favor of the 52-hour workweek law, but this is an inconsistent move changing past statements."

He also brought up again the issue that opposition candidates had pointed out after Park announced a plan to supply public apartments at 10 million won per pyeong in the Changdong vehicle depot area, which local lawmakers expressed embarrassment about, and Park hastily revised the policy the next day.

In response to Rep. Woo's declaration of war, Park's camp responded immediately but appeared flustered. Former Minister Park said, "I want to ask what it means to be 'Democratic Party-like'." She added, "We must never forget that we are the ruling party," and "I hope we can have sufficient policy debates in future TV debates."

Until just before the Lunar New Year holiday, Rep. Woo had shown a soft gesture toward former Minister Park, to the extent that Rep. Kim Jin-ae advised him to "be tougher," but on the last day of the holiday, he set a date saying, "From today, I will start policy verification," and drew the sword of scrutiny. What is the reason for this?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"(Tough competition) will proceed when the primary intensifies. Once the race starts, differentiation will gradually begin."

This was Rep. Woo's additional comment at the end of the phone call with the reporter.

It seems that Rep. Woo judged that the curtain of the full-scale election battle would rise after the Lunar New Year holiday. In recent polls, Rep. Woo's approval ratings continue to lag behind former Minister Park.

Although former Minister Park declared her candidacy relatively late compared to other Seoul mayoral candidates, her support rate is strong enough to lead in both the pro-government camp and in two-party and multi-party contests. Although there were criticisms that her support base within the party was weak, she gained the support of former National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, a representative 'pro-Moon' figure, and also recruited three former ministers who served as cabinet members during her time as Minister of SMEs and Startups as heads of advisory groups in various fields.

For Rep. Woo, with just about two weeks left until the final candidate selection, the advancing steps of former Minister Park are unwelcome. Although Rep. Woo is known to have a stronger support base within the party, the primary is conducted with 50% party members and 50% general voters, so the outcome cannot be guaranteed.

For these reasons, the prevailing view is that Rep. Woo has made a decisive move. He cannot neglect consolidating the pro-Moon faction either. During the Lunar New Year holiday, Rep. Woo visited Bongha Village and stopped by the Gyeongnam Provincial Office to meet Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam Province and shared their intentions. Rep. Woo shared a photo with Governor Kim on his Facebook, writing, "If I become the mayor of Seoul, Seoul and Gyeongnam Province will cooperate to create a wonderful Korea, and we reaffirmed our mutual will."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, he posted a photo with former and current lawmakers from the class of '81 to confirm his support. Attendees included Rep. Park Jung, Rep. Song Young-gil, Rep. Yang Kyung-sook, Rep. Yang Ki-dae, Rep. Yoo Dong-soo, former Rep. Lee Kyu-hee, and Rep. Jung Sung-ho.

The increasingly heated policy battle between the two candidates is expected to become more intense during the remaining primary period. TV debates are scheduled for the 15th and 17th. The Democratic Party primary voting will take place from the 26th to the 1st of next month, when the final candidate will be decided.

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