Choo Mi-ae to Enter Presidential Race with the Frame "I Am the One to Stop Yoon Seok-yeol"

Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo-mi Lee] There are speculations that former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, who strongly clashed with former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, will run for president.

Yoon Tae-gon, head of the political analysis office at The Moa, recently said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The more former Prosecutor General Yoon rises, the more former Minister Chu will come out with the frame of 'Doesn't that person have problems?' and 'I am the one to catch Yoon Seok-yeol,'" predicting this scenario.

In response to the host's remark that "The talk that former Minister Chu might run in the next presidential election is gradually becoming serious," he forecasted, "People like Chu Mi-ae and Chung Sye-kyun (Prime Minister) have no choice but to run."

He further explained the reason, saying, "(Former Minister Chu and Prime Minister Chung) have achieved everything, so there is no challenge left except the next level. Even if they fail, that challenge is all that remains."

In particular, Yoon analyzed, "In the case of former Minister Chu, isn't she riding on former Prosecutor General Yoon? Although Yoon Seok-yeol rose because of Chu Mi-ae, the so-called hardline supporters of the ruling party are attaching themselves to Chu Mi-ae because of Yoon Seok-yeol."

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. [Image source=Yonhap News]

He also diagnosed that former Prosecutor General Yoon, who rapidly emerged as a next presidential contender immediately after resigning, does not have a negative impact on Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung but acts as a bad factor for Lee Nak-yeon, the standing election committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Yoon said, "Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung complement each other and seem to be okay together," adding, "To become a presidential candidate, one must go through various hurdles, and the best is to form a two-strong structure. From Governor Lee's perspective, although his approval rating drops slightly because former Prosecutor General Yoon rises, the formation of the structure is not bad."

On the other hand, he emphasized, "For Chairman Lee, the two-strong structure of 'Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung' is not good, and there are two possible trends: either to go with a completely new face or not. From Chairman Lee's standpoint, winning the April 7 by-elections is an absolute must."

Meanwhile, a poll on next presidential candidate support rates released on the 15th showed that former Prosecutor General Yoon is far ahead of Governor Lee and Chairman Lee.

According to the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), commissioned by TBS, a survey on the suitability of next presidential candidates was conducted from the 12th to 13th among 1,010 people nationwide aged 18 and over. Former Prosecutor General Yoon ranked first with 37.2%. Governor Lee followed with 24.2%, and Chairman Lee came in third with 13.3%. Others included independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo (5.7%), former Minister Chu (2.7%), Prime Minister Chung (2.4%), and former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min (2.2%).

For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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