Jeong Cheong-rae "Yoon Seok-yeol may follow Ban Ki-moon's path... unlikely to complete presidential race"

"Books Glorifying Former Ban Ki-moon Overflow... Yoon Seok-yeol Marketing Is No Different"

Jeong Cheong-rae, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted on the 21st that it would be "difficult for Yoon Seok-yeol, former Prosecutor General, to complete the presidential race," saying, "Yoon Seok-yeol might follow Ban Ki-moon's footsteps."

On the same day, Jeong posted on his Facebook under the title "Can Yoon Seok-yeol complete the race?" stating, "The key to (completing the presidential race) is the approval rating. If his approval rating falls below 15% or he ranks third, he will consider withdrawing. If it hovers around 10%, he will prepare for withdrawal, and if it falls below 10%, he will withdraw."

He added, "Politicians who have been in the political field for a long time challenge even with just 1% support and use it as a stepping stone for the next term," explaining, "Simply put, they use 1% as an asset to plan for the future."

He said, "In Yoon Seok-yeol's case, this presidential election is not a stepping stone for the next term," and "If Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating drops, he will become distant from the media, and his support base will rapidly decline, causing him to lose the momentum to plan for the future."

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

Additionally, Jeong criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon, saying, "He is neither politically mentally strong like Ban Ki-moon nor will he come to resent 'the world of people who join because they think they will succeed but then fall off'."

He continued, "To my recollection, Ban Ki-moon's reign lasted only two weeks. While leading the approval ratings, he repeatedly made one mistake a day, causing his ratings to plummet to around 10%, and he immediately announced his withdrawal. Even then, books glorifying Ban Ki-moon were overflowing. Yoon Seok-yeol's marketing now is no different. The media's tactics of flooding exclusive articles with his anecdotes and remarks will, in hindsight, seem futile."

Furthermore, he said, "Yoon Seok-yeol might follow Ban Ki-moon's path," adding, "The bubble of overwhelming support has burst, and he even lost the top spot. If his approval rating falls to 15%, and if it drops to around 10% or he loses second place to Lee Nak-yeon and falls to third, Yoon Seok-yeol's mind will become complicated. There's no law against that."

He continued, "I might be wrong, but my intuition tells me that it is difficult to expect Yoon Seok-yeol to complete the race," explaining, "There is a clear limit to gathering support by being an opponent without future vision or content. Especially since he lacks political experience, it is even more so."

Earlier, on the 16th, Jeong also voiced criticism toward former Prosecutor General Yoon. He sharply remarked on Yoon's stance regarding the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, saying, "Yoon Seok-yeol seems like a player who doesn't fit well with politics and democracy. He looks more suited for UFC."

He added, "He might be scheming here and there, but he doesn't seem like a character who will succeed as a politician," and predicted, "There is a high chance he will become a second Ban Ki-moon. I think it is more likely he will leave politics early rather than retire."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that recently former Prosecutor General Yoon has been receiving advice from elder statesmen and experts in various fields such as diplomacy, real estate, labor, welfare, and semiconductors, starting with Kim Hyung-seok, Honorary Professor at Yonsei University.

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