Kim Geun-sik: "Yoon Seok-yeol and Kim Jong-in Are Politically Destined to Go Together"

"Mutual trust has been established, so it is expected to conclude smoothly and join successfully"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman, are entering a restaurant in downtown Seoul on the evening of the 24th for a dinner meeting.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Professor Kim Geun-sik of Gyeongnam University said, "Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party candidate, and former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in are structurally destined to go together politically."

On the 24th, Professor Kim stated on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "Although it seems there have been ups and downs, I believe that soon both will need each other and have formed a relationship of trust, so it will be smoothly concluded and they will join forces."

He explained, "Candidate Yoon and former Chairman Kim have communicated and met each other for a long time, exchanging advice and building trust. It might be hard to call it a game of push and pull, but looking at former Chairman Kim's style and political rhetoric, a similar process occurred when he was invited as Emergency Committee Chairman after the crushing defeat of the United Future Party in last year's general election."

Regarding former Chairman Kim's statement that he would announce his position "within 2 to 3 days," Professor Kim said, "It seems optimistic that the issue will be resolved within 2 to 3 days."

He added, "Currently, with the convention effect raising approval ratings, there has been a kind of complacency within some parts of the party thinking it might be fine to just continue as is. However, among those close to candidate Yoon or within the party, there appear to be strategic disagreements due to discomfort or awkwardness about the Kim Jong-in system or his joining."

He also dismissed rumors of conflict between Kim Byung-joon, the Standing Chairman, and former Chairman Kim Jong-in, saying, "The relationship between Kim Byung-joon and former Chairman Kim is not bad."

Professor Kim added, "The campaign headquarters is an organization that actively supports the candidate and maximizes efficiency. There are differences in scale, weight, role, and political symbolism between former Chairman Kim Jong-in and former Chairman Kim Byung-joon, so it was understandable to question whether it was necessary for both to serve as campaign headquarters chiefs."

Nevertheless, he noted, "Since the matter has already been approved by the Supreme Council, it does not seem that former Chairman Kim would refuse to join the campaign headquarters if this issue is not resolved."

When asked if former Chairman Kim would join if candidate Yoon made an effort to persuade him again, Professor Kim gave a positive outlook, saying, "If communication resumes and some consensus is formed, I expect that the campaign headquarters issue will be smoothly resolved through another meeting between the two."

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