"Lee Jae-myung vs Yoon Seok-yeol Showdown Confirmed"... 2022 Presidential Election Matchup Complete

Unification between Ruling and Opposition Parties, Internal Integration and Other Challenges to Resolve
Daechang-dong Gate - Both Parties Likely to Engage in Full-Scale Battle over Accusations and Prosecution Requests

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] With former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol confirmed as the People Power Party's presidential candidate, next year's presidential election will feature a direct contest against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. With the lineup of presidential candidates finalized, the full-scale presidential election phase has begun.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is greeting while wearing the party jumper after being finally selected as the presidential candidate at the 2nd Party Convention held on the afternoon of the 5th at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

On the 5th, at the People Power Party's national convention, former Prosecutor General Yoon was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, bringing the list of presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties to the final stages. The Justice Party officially nominated Sim Sang-jung as its presidential candidate, and the People’s Party officially nominated Ahn Cheol-soo. Kim Dong-yeon, former Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, is expected to run for president under the New Wave, a third-party political group currently in the process of formation.

With four months remaining until the presidential election, both ruling and opposition parties are expected to enter a fierce battle for the next presidency.

Since next year’s presidential election is anticipated to be a close race between the ruling and opposition parties, both sides are likely to engage in unification efforts. The ruling party is expected to attempt to consolidate progressive votes, while the opposition party will try to gather conservative votes.

Regarding Ahn’s declaration to run independently despite earlier expressing willingness to merge and unify the opposition, discussions on candidate unification are likely to arise. Since all primary candidates had suggested the possibility of unification with Ahn even before the finalization of presidential candidates, unification talks are expected to surface once election campaign committees are formed.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is greeting attending university students on the afternoon of the 5th at Kyungpook National University in Daegu during the event "Youth Ask, Lee Jae-myung Answers: A Dialogue with Kyungpook National University Students."
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, given Ahn’s clear intention to run independently, mutual resistance that surfaced during merger talks, and Ahn’s significantly lower approval ratings, it may take more time before unification discussions become serious.

Similarly, Lee is also expected to seek unification by increasing common ground with Sim, although Sim has so far drawn a line against unification.

The political battle between the ruling and opposition parties is expected to intensify further. The People Power Party is likely to emphasize Lee’s responsibility regarding the Daejang-dong development scandal. Especially for former Prosecutor General Yoon, who was renowned as a top prosecutor from a special investigation unit, aggressively attacking Lee’s responsibility and continuing to demand a special prosecutor investigation is anticipated. In his acceptance speech, Yoon stated, "(The people's mandate) is to eradicate the massive corruption cartel as seen in the Daejang-dong gate and to reform the established political circles."

Conversely, the Democratic Party is expected to highlight allegations such as the "report-for-hire" scandal, accusing former Prosecutor General Yoon of privatizing prosecutorial power during the Moon Jae-in administration and colluding with the opposition party despite being the sitting Prosecutor General.

Additionally, Yoon faces challenges such as low approval ratings among people in their 20s to 40s, and although he won the primary due to strong support from the People Power Party base, he must continue to expand his appeal to moderate voters. Particularly, controversies stemming from his remarks defending former President Chun Doo-hwan and the incident involving a dog apple have become negative factors not only in Honam but also in the Seoul metropolitan area, making it necessary to soothe public sentiment.

Healing the aftereffects of the party primary is also a task to be addressed. Lee’s camp, having completed the primary earlier, has begun efforts to reconcile through the launch of the campaign committee, but political circles still mention Plan B and other alternatives citing the Daejang-dong development scandal, indicating ongoing conflicts. The People Power Party also urgently needs to heal internal divisions as a fierce competition is expected to continue until the final stages of the election.

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