Jeong Cheong-rae "Opposition Unity Effect Zero... Final Winner Kim Jong-in"

Oh Se-hoon and Ahn Cheol-soo Fail to Unite Before Candidate Registration

Jeong Cheong-rae, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Regarding the collapse of the opposition party unification negotiations for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized on the 18th, saying, "The biggest winner of this unification is Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party," and added, "The scattering of ashes was a masterpiece."

Jeong said in a post on his Facebook that "this unification is a minus unification where both Oh Se-hoon and Ahn Cheol-soo lost."

He said, "Ahn Cheol-soo probably calculated that his 'small concession' would be packaged as a 'generous concession' and widely reported, becoming the foundation for victory," adding, "Calculations that can be read are tricks. They don't work."

He continued, "The problem is that the synergy effect of unification has already disappeared due to the extreme division that has touched each other's emotional lines and even led to the 'Madam debate,'" and pointed out, "There is no unification effect in the smoke-filled atmosphere where they stabbed each other's eyes and scratched each other's faces. It's not a perfect effect but a zero effect."

Jeong also evaluated, "Whether Oh Se-hoon or Ahn Cheol-soo wins, the chemical bond has already been lost, and even if unification somehow happens, the winner will tremble with an intense ostracism instinct toward the loser, and the loser will shudder with extreme hostility toward the winner."

He then sarcastically addressed Chairman Kim, saying, "The sabotage technique worked. Thanks to that, both Oh Se-hoon and Ahn Cheol-soo became victims," and added, "The ultimate winner. Congratulations to Mr. Kim Jong-in, who is neither here nor there."

Earlier, the unification between the People Power Party and the People Party before the candidate registration for the April 7 by-election for Seoul mayor was virtually unsuccessful. Accordingly, candidates Oh and Ahn are expected to proceed with the candidate registration procedures as numbers 2 and 4, respectively.

The reason for the breakdown in negotiations was the wording and method of the opinion poll. Candidate Oh insisted that the poll should ask about 'competitiveness or suitability' via both landline and mobile phones, while candidate Ahn insisted that the poll should be conducted only via mobile phones as a 'virtual one-on-one contest' with the Democratic Party candidate.

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