"Betrayer" vs "Regime Change" Yoon Seok-yeol - Choi Jae-hyung's 'Presidential Run' Controversy [Han Seung-gon's Political Notebook]

Yoon Suk-yeol "Moon Jae-in Administration Launched with People's Expectations and Hopes... How Has It Been So Far?"
Choi Jae-hyung "I Will Repay the People with Good Politics"

On July 15, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung (left), who completed the mobile party membership application at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl (right), who met with the press after meeting former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Ban Ki-moon Foundation in Jongno-gu. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Anyone can do politics.", "They're just traitors, what regime change?"

Citizens have mixed opinions regarding the presidential bids of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung. While some believe that anyone can engage in political activities and thus their political moves are free, others criticize them as 'traitors' since both were appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon declared his presidential bid 117 days after stepping down from his position on March 4th, at a press conference titled "With fairness and common sense, creating the future together with the people," held at the Maeheon Yun Bong-gil Memorial Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 29th of last month. He stated, "With the people's common sense as a weapon, I will resolutely restore the values of freedom democracy, rule of law, and fairness that transcend eras and generations."

He questioned, "Four years ago, the Moon Jae-in administration was launched with the people's expectations and hopes," adding, "We clearly remember the promise to create a country where opportunities are equal, processes are fair, and results are just, a country without privileges and unfair advantages. But how has it been so far?"

Meanwhile, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi, who also announced his intention to run for the next presidency, joined the People Power Party on the 15th.

On that day, Choi declared his party membership after meeting with Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. He said, "Today, I am joining as a rank-and-file member of the People Power Party, and I think it is a special consideration that the leader personally welcomed me," adding, "I will repay the people with good politics."

He also emphasized, "I believe it is more important than anything else to create a country where our youth, who especially see no future, can now live with hope. I will devote everything I have to building such a country."

Former President Yoon declared his bid for the presidency at a press conference titled "With Fairness and Common Sense, Creating the Future Together with the People," held at the Maeheon Yun Bong-gil Memorial Hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul, at 1 p.m. on the 29th of last month. He stated, "With the people's common sense as our weapon, we will resolutely restore the fallen values of liberal democracy, the rule of law, and fairness that transcends eras and generations." [Image source=Yonhap News]

Citizens' opinions on the two men's presidential bids are divided. Kim, a mid-30s office worker who identified himself as a party member, said he could understand the moves of former Prosecutor General Yoon and others but criticized them as ultimately inappropriate behavior.

Kim said, "Anyone can engage in political activities," but pointed out, "Isn't the case of Yoon Seok-yeol and Choi Jae-hyung a bit different?" He added, "Aren't these two people those appointed by President Moon? I agree with the criticism that they are traitors in the political arena."

On the other hand, there are differing views. Some sympathize with their claims of regime change or inevitable political moves. Choi, a 30s office worker, said, "I think, 'They must have had no choice but to do that,'" adding, "In the end, if they lose in the presidential primary or election, aren't they the ones responsible?" He further said, "They made their own choices, so there is no need to block them."

Former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, is moving to the office to talk with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the morning of the 19th at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The ruling party launched fierce criticism. On the 28th of last month, Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae posted on his Facebook, "Once someone betrays, they will betray again, and if someone opens the path of betrayal, many followers line up," adding, "If someone fighting for independence immediately becomes a pro-Japanese collaborator just because their independence movement line doesn't match, would that be acceptable? When the squid jumps, the mudfish jumps too; both squid and mudfish are just products of desire," sharply criticizing them.

Kim Eui-gyeom, a lawmaker of the Open Democratic Party, belittled former Chairman Choi, saying, "He is fully qualified to be the darling of the old mainstream of our society," and "According to people at the Board of Audit and Inspection, Choi was the one who first brought up political topics, but it was said to be a typical logic of the Taegeukgi faction."

Meanwhile, in a multi-candidate race for the next presidential candidate suitability, former Prosecutor General Yoon, a leading figure in the pan-opposition camp, maintained his lead hovering around 30%. Former Chairman Choi's support rate rose, making him the second-ranked candidate in the pan-opposition camp, according to a poll released on the 19th. Among Democratic Party presidential candidates, former leader Lee Nak-yeon showed an upward trend within the top three multi-candidate race.

According to the July 3rd week 'Next Presidential Candidate Suitability' poll released by KSOI (Korea Society Opinion Institute) on the same day (commissioned by TBS, conducted over two days from July 16 to 17, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), former Prosecutor General Yoon scored 30.3%, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung scored 25.4%, maintaining the top two positions. Compared to last week, Yoon rose by 0.4 percentage points, while Lee dropped by 1.5 percentage points, widening the gap to 4.9 percentage points.

Former Chairman Choi, who joined the People Power Party, recorded over 5% support, ranking fourth. Former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae maintained fifth place with 3.4%, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous week. People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo ranked sixth with 3.3%, down 0.8 percentage points.

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