Yoon Seok-yeol Gains Support from Ha Tae-kyung... Hong Joon-pyo Confident in 'Minshim' Advantage

Yoon Seok-yeol Gains Support from Primary Rival Ha Tae-gyeong
Expands Camp Outreach and Organization
Hong Joon-pyo Confident in Broadening Support Among 2040 and Independents
"If Party Base Tries to Overcome Public Opinion, Presidential Election Will Fail"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] With nine days left until the official nomination of the People Power Party's presidential candidate on the 5th of next month, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Assemblyman Hong Joon-pyo are making a final push for momentum. Former Prosecutor General Yoon is advocating for ‘broadening his base,’ while Assemblyman Hong is promoting a ‘bandwagon effect.’

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 27th, former Prosecutor General Yoon succeeded in further expanding his base by gaining the support of Assemblyman Ha Tae-kyung, who was a rival in the primary race. The two held a joint press conference that day and announced that Assemblyman Ha would serve as a co-chairman of Yoon Seok-yeol’s campaign election committee. Since Assemblyman Ha has represented the younger generation and is a symbol of reformist conservatism, it is expected to help former Prosecutor General Yoon attract support from the moderate voters. In particular, because Assemblyman Ha has been a strong critic of Assemblyman Hong during the primary process, Yoon’s campaign is likely to strengthen its offensive against Hong.

The day before, eight incumbent members of the People Power Party declared their support for former Prosecutor General Yoon. As a result, the number of lawmakers who have officially joined the campaign has reached around 30. Since the presidential primary is conducted with 50% public opinion polls and 50% party member voting, the plan to firmly secure party support is steadily progressing. Kim Kyung-jin, a special advisor for external cooperation in Yoon’s campaign, appeared on the radio that day and expressed confidence, saying, "Although I have only been a party member for about three months, countless incumbent lawmakers and regional committee chairpersons outside the National Assembly have declared their support," indicating a clear advantage in party sentiment.

On the other hand, Assemblyman Hong is actively publicizing that he is ahead of former Prosecutor General Yoon in various opinion polls, stating that "the moment of reversal is approaching." Citing a recent opinion poll conducted by WinG Korea Consulting commissioned by Asia Economy, Hong emphasized that he is the only candidate who leads Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, in hypothetical matchups (conducted on the 23rd-24th, via ARS method, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level; detailed survey information is available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website). Lee Eon-ju, co-chairman of Hong’s campaign, stressed, "The 20s and 40s age groups, as well as moderates, are passionately supporting Assemblyman Hong." This indicates that he has both public opinion and competitiveness for the general election.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Assemblyman Hong is also expanding his organization by targeting current and former party district committee chairpersons. However, compared to former Prosecutor General Yoon’s scale, it is relatively smaller. When meeting with reporters that day, Hong said, "Voting to line up members of the National Assembly cannot be done," and emphasized, "If party sentiment tries to override public sentiment, the presidential election will fail. Party members understand this better than anyone."

On the same day, Assemblyman Hong announced a foreign policy pledge that puts ‘national interest first’ at the forefront. Hong stated, "Immediately upon being elected president, I will hold the first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and establish an ‘Asia version of the Nuclear Planning Group’ in bilateral or multilateral (Korea-U.S.-Japan-Australia) formats to secure a promise to deploy tactical nuclear weapons and build a NATO-style nuclear sharing system." Meanwhile, the People Power Party presidential candidates will hold a broadcast debate in the Gangwon region that day. It will be a key point to watch whether candidates, who had held back their attacks due to negative controversy, will launch a final offensive.

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