People Power Party's Campaign Committee Halts at Recruiting 'Kim Jong-in'... Yoon Seok-yeol Launches All-Out Persuasion Effort

Amid Controversy Over Kim Jong-in's Refusal to Join,
People Power Party's Campaign Committee Delayed Beyond Initial Schedule,
Falling Behind the Democratic Party Which Is Even Building Local Organizations,
Persuasion Ultimately Requires Yoon Seok-yeol's Intervention

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Hyunju Lee] As noise arises in the process of forming the People Power Party's election campaign committee, there are forecasts that damage to the party's presidential election path is inevitable. Originally, the People Power Party had announced the launch of the campaign committee on the 20th, but the refusal of former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in, who was being recruited as the general election campaign chairman, became a stumbling block.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the case of the Democratic Party, which proceeded with the presidential primary schedule faster than the People Power Party, candidate Lee Jae-myung was selected on October 10, and the campaign committee was launched on the 2nd of this month, just 23 days later. The People Power Party officially selected former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl as its candidate on the 5th of this month, about a month later than that. Since then, the People Power Party has been discussing major personnel appointments and the scale of the campaign committee with the plan to launch it two weeks later. However, the issue with former Chairman Kim has left the final puzzle piece missing. Until this issue is resolved, it will be difficult to promise the launch of the campaign committee and the start of normal election activities.

Regarding how the late launch of the campaign committee will affect candidate Yoon's approval ratings, Professor Park Sang-byeong of Inha University pointed out, "For political novice candidate Yoon, the campaign committee is the first work to establish an organization as a political leader," adding, "If the organization shakes, doubts about Yoon's negotiation and coordination abilities will also increase." Of course, there are differing opinions. Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University said, "The campaign committee has no meaning beyond supporting the presidential election structure," and "Moreover, due to the current COVID-19 situation, it is difficult to operate offline, so it will be limited to a symbolic role."

However, looking at the Democratic Party campaign committee, which is moving ahead, there are aspects that might make the People Power Party or candidate Yoon somewhat impatient. Although the Democratic Party experienced some confusion after forming the campaign committee, it has established campaign committees in 253 cities, counties, and districts. Empowered by this, candidate Lee is focusing on weekend regional tours with the Maetabus (Daily Livelihood Bus). Notably, public opinion polls show rising approval ratings in the regions of Daejeon, Sejong, Chungcheong, and Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, where the regional schedules took place.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, are attending a media event held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 24th, exchanging greetings. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

For now, the key to estimating when the People Power Party campaign committee can be launched is the status of Kim Byung-joon, the standing campaign committee chairman. On the 24th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, appeared on the radio and said, "The biggest change in the current situation would be if candidate Yoon expresses his intention to withdraw the recruitment of Kim Byung-joon as standing campaign committee chairman," but added, "Considering Yoon's usual personnel style, that will never happen." Lee also forecasted that if the personnel plan changes so that Kim Byung-joon takes charge of a special organization like Kim Han-gil's New Era Preparation Committee directly under the candidate, there might be room for acceptance. Ultimately, Yoon's decision on this matter is the key to changing the situation.

There are also calls in the political circle for candidate Yoon to meet former Chairman Kim directly with such a proposal. Currently, no meeting is scheduled, but the possibility remains. Lee Yang-su, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said, "There is no scheduled meeting with former Chairman Kim yet, but it could happen. We don't know yet." Kwon Seong-dong, secretary-general of the People Power Party and a close aide to candidate Yoon, also visited former Chairman Kim's office this morning to persuade him. Secretary-General Kwon said, "I will ask him to lead us," adding, "I am going to meet him according to candidate Yoon's wishes."

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