People Power Party Election Committee's '3 Kim' Faces Uncertain Start

Despite Yoon's Official Announcement
No Confirmation Statement from Kim Jong-in
Difficulty in Forming the Campaign Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Boryeong Geum] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, announced the formation and launch of the election campaign committee under the ‘Three Kims (Kim Jong-in, Kim Han-gil, Kim Byung-joon) system.’ However, unusual signals related to this have emerged. Despite the official announcement of the ‘Three Kims system’ by Yoon’s side the previous day, as of the morning of the 22nd, neither former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in nor party leader Lee Jun-seok has made any statements ‘confirming’ this. Accordingly, it is expected that the proposed campaign committee lineup will not be announced at the Supreme Council meeting held that day. Multiple party officials reported that on the morning of the 22nd, Lee was in the process of coordinating between former chairman Kim and candidate Yoon. However, it is unknown whether Yoon announced details that were not ‘agreed’ upon with Kim or Lee, or if a broad agreement has been reached and they are refining the detailed appointments.

The previous day, candidate Yoon announced the leadership lineup with former chairman Kim as the overall campaign committee chairman, Kim Byung-joon and Lee Jun-seok as standing campaign committee chairmen, and Kim Han-gil as the New Era Preparation Committee chairman. At that time, Lee Yang-su, the chief spokesperson of the campaign committee, stated, “Former chairman Kim agreed to this.” Initially, former chairman Kim was reportedly negative about recruiting Kim Byung-joon and Kim Han-gil, but candidate Yoon persuaded him to approve it.

However, on the 22nd, the day after the announcement, reports emerged suggesting that former chairman Kim did not readily accept Yoon’s plan, raising doubts. If the campaign committee lineup formed according to Yoon’s wishes fails, it implies that Yoon himself will take full responsibility, which is why former chairman Kim is said to have accepted it. There is also analysis that if Yoon’s approval ratings drop after the campaign committee launch, similar to how Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party proposed a campaign committee reform plan, Yoon will do the same, which is considered former chairman Kim’s true intention. A People Power Party official said, “The campaign committee formation is facing more difficulties than expected,” and predicted, “It may be difficult to finalize it today or tomorrow.”

Even if the campaign committee launches exactly as announced with the Three Kims system, the consensus is that the balance of power will ultimately tilt toward former chairman Kim, who holds overall control. Yeom Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, said, “What synergy could there be with Kim Byung-joon and Kim Han-gil?” adding, “If it is composed of old boys and they fight over their shares, support ratings will drop, and if former chairman Kim cannot gain full authority, he will say he won’t continue midway.” Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University’s Department of Political Science and Diplomacy also said, “The two will ultimately remain symbolic figures,” and “Yoon must guarantee the position of sole overall campaign committee chairman.”

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