Yoon Seok-yeol, who emerged as the 'Lee Jae-myung sniper,' shifts to a negative strategy?

Full-scale Criticism of Lee Jae-myung... From Seongnam FC to Basic Housing
People's Camp Says "Trying to Play the Role of the Opposition"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, has recently taken the forefront as the 'sharpshooter against Lee Jae-myung.' On the surface, this appears to be a commitment to fulfilling the role of the opposition party, but it is interpreted as a strategy to offset controversies that have caused a recent decline in approval ratings, such as verbal gaffes and conflicts with party leadership. However, as voices across the political spectrum caution against negativity itself, there are concerns that this could become a 'minus' for the candidate.

The People Power Party camp of former Prosecutor General Yoon expanded its camp organization upon joining the party on the 30th of last month and began responding to negativity through spokesperson statements. In the early days of the camp's launch, the response was limited to countering attacks directed at Yoon, but recently, ahead of the primary, they have taken a preemptive offensive by criticizing other candidates' attitudes and policies.

In particular, the camp has been targeting Lee Jae-myung, the ruling party's leading candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, almost daily. Since joining the party about a month ago, there have been as many as 15 statements criticizing Lee.

The criticisms from Yoon's camp include the 'Seongnam FC bribery allegations,' Lee's 'basic housing' pledge, and controversies over his resignation from the governorship. On the 4th, spokesperson Kim Byung-min issued a statement titled 'Several Questions Regarding the Seongnam FC Bribery Investigation,' saying, "Lee, as the mayor of Seongnam and owner of Seongnam FC, received 16.15 billion KRW in sponsorship funds from six companies," and raised suspicions by adding, "As seen in the Mir and K-Sports Foundation case rulings, corporate sponsorships can become 'third-party bribes' if linked to current issues or interests." The camp repeatedly pointed out through subsequent statements, "Do not obscure the essence with grandiose terms like 'prosecutorial reform,' but answer the 'Seongnam FC bribery allegations.'"

They also poured criticism on Lee's 'basic housing' pledge. Youth special advisor Jang Ye-chan, in a statement on the 6th, pointed out the estimated annual cost of 58.4 trillion KRW, asking, "Where exactly will this enormous budget come from? Ultimately, it is national debt that future generations, the youth, will have to bear." Spokesperson Yoon Hee-seok also criticized on the 11th and 13th, stating, "Lee's so-called 'basic loan' remarks are immature thoughts trapped in a 'divide the people' framework," and "Have you considered how to handle the aftermath when the market's credit evaluation function is arbitrarily blocked?"

Statements demanding Lee's resignation from the governorship also followed. Deputy spokesperson Kim Ki-heung, in a statement on the 9th, called it a 'governor's chance,' saying, "I hope the arrogance that only he can bear the weight of life for 13.8 million Gyeonggi residents will awaken." Additionally, Economic Headquarters Director Yoon Chang-hyun, analyzing the trend of Lee's four-year governance evaluation on the 13th, pointed out, "The finances are shrinking," and "Yet, the governor's mind seems more focused on the presidential race than on people's livelihoods."

Regarding this strategy, a camp official explained, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon is the candidate who receives the most support from the broad opposition supporters, so our stance is that the target we must fight is the ruling party within a larger framework," adding, "We must play the role of the opposition party by checking the government and criticizing the ruling party's presidential candidates." He also defended, "There have been continuous restraining remarks against Yoon from Lee's side as well."

However, there are various speculations about Yoon's camp suddenly shifting from a consistent 'defensive strategy' to an 'offensive posture' despite ongoing external attacks. In particular, it is analyzed that the offensive was chosen to offset recent controversies such as verbal gaffes and conflicts with party leadership.

In fact, ahead of the primary, Yoon's remarks about '120-hour workweeks' and the 'Daegu rebellion' became problematic, leading to a recent decline in approval ratings. Conscious of this, Yoon even took a vacation period to devise countermeasures.

Recent public opinion polls also show that Yoon's situation has changed. While he had maintained the position of the leading presidential candidate, his approval ratings have recently declined, seemingly ceding the lead to Lee. Depending on the polling method, results vary between Yoon leading and Lee being ahead, showing a close race. Given this crisis, Yoon likely needed a somewhat stronger strategy.

However, as the ruling party, which started the presidential primary earlier, expresses growing concerns about negative exchanges between Lee and former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, it remains unclear whether Yoon's new offensive strategy will act as a 'plus' or a 'minus' for him. Nonetheless, as competition intensifies among leading candidates from both parties, negative exchanges between them are expected to become even fiercer.

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