Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-yeol, Gaining Party Control While Forming the Campaign Committee but Losing Valuable Time

Lee, Unable to Benefit from One-Month Early Candidacy
Confusion in Responding to Daejang-dong Allegation Issues
Established Loyalist System with Close Aides
Successful Policy Differentiation from Moon Administration

Yoon Faces Repeated Noise over Kim Jong-in Recruitment
Misses First Opportunity to Reveal Political Vision
Alleviates Concerns over 5-Month Career
Strengthened Party Standing, Speech, and Control

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Jeon Jin-young]

Lee drives reform...support rate shows little change

From the selection of primary candidates to the reorganization of the election campaign committee, what has Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, gained and lost? Although he was selected as a candidate a month earlier than the People Power Party, it is clear that he failed to fully utilize this time, which is a definite loss. On the other hand, the party control gained through differentiation from the Moon Jae-in administration and reform can be seen as a definite gain.

One of the main things Lee lost was time due to the confusion surrounding the campaign committee. Despite securing time advantage for policy announcements by being selected earlier than his opponent, he failed to translate this into rising support rates. Internal party noise during the primary prevented him from enjoying the convention effect, and the sluggish campaign committee activities trapped his support rate in the low to mid-30% "box range."

Of course, the impact of personal issues such as the Daejang-dong development favoritism allegations cannot be excluded, but many analyses inside and outside the political circle suggest that the campaign committee confusion acted as a negative factor for his support rate. The committee's failure to respond swiftly to issues caused confusion, and the party's inability to properly back the candidate resulted in losses in terms of the "linkage between party and candidate support rates."

There are also gains. The most important fruit is the party control Lee, a 'non-mainstream' within the party, gained through the campaign committee reform. Lee, empowered by demands for reform inside and outside the party, succeeded in establishing a loyalist system by appointing close aides to key party positions such as secretary-general. He appointed Kim Young-jin, who served as the situation room chief during the primary, as secretary-general, and Kang Hoon-sik, who was the political coordination office chief, as the head of the strategic planning committee. While the campaign committee initially aimed to be a "melting pot" including all lawmakers, now it reflects the intention to increase decision-making efficiency with only core figures. Park Sang-byeong, a professor at Inha University Graduate School of Policy, evaluated, "The direction change was well done," adding, "For now, it has completed agility that properly reflects the candidate's intentions."

In a situation where the demand for regime change is higher than for regime continuation, differentiating from the Moon Jae-in administration is Lee's immediate task, and he has achieved some success in this area as well. By seizing the opportunity to reform the campaign committee, he has been able to showcase the "Lee Jae-myung Democratic Party" both internally and externally. At a foreign press briefing on the 25th, Lee hinted at distancing himself from the current administration's key policy direction by stating, "A new approach is needed for North Korea policy and inter-Korean relations." A lawmaker classified as part of the Lee Jae-myung faction emphasized on the 26th, "Until now, the party was ironically holding the candidate back, but now the strategy should be aligned with the candidate's competitiveness, not the party's," adding, "We need to differentiate so that Lee Jae-myung, not the Democratic Party, gets attention."

Whether the gains outweigh the losses or vice versa amid the current campaign committee controversies will be judged by future support rate trends. As the reform of the campaign committee accelerates, Lee is attempting to rebound his support rate through policy and livelihood field visits such as the weekly nationwide tour by bus called ‘Mae-ta-bus.’ The recent narrowing of the support rate gap with People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl in polls is also a positive sign for Lee. Kang Hoon-sik, the new head of the strategic planning committee, said in a radio interview that morning, "When reflection and remorse move the public, it will be reflected in the support rate," adding, "It is still a time to approach with sincerity."

Yoon imprints one-top system...reveals political novice stubbornness

It seems clear that the various noises caused by People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl while organizing the election campaign committee act as a loss on his presidential path. The representative evaluation is that it showed the "limits of political skills." However, it is not all loss. Taking control of the ruling party within five months of entering politics can also be seen as a display of political skill from another perspective.

From the People Power Party’s standpoint, which had a later primary schedule than the Democratic Party, early formation of the campaign committee was urgent. Yoon recently said, "Every minute and second is precious," reflecting this sense of urgency. What held back Yoon, who is in a hurry, was the recruitment of former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in. There had been continuous calls for an experienced commander for the political novice Yoon. Since People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok described Kim as "the best commander currently," Kim’s joining was considered a given and a constant for election victory.

The noise surfaced as Yoon "began to voice his own opinions." A difference in approach emerged between Kim, who emphasized a swift and rapid campaign committee organization, and Yoon, who stressed "going together." People Power Party Supreme Council member Jung Mi-kyung explained on the 26th on radio, "Kim thinks it should be a disciplined one-top system, while Yoon wants to slightly distribute power and cooperate overall."

The prolonged tug-of-war over whether Kim would join or not, due to failure to narrow differences between the two on campaign committee formation, led to doubts about Yoon’s political skills. Yoon sent aides repeatedly to persuade Kim’s side and even held an emergency dinner meeting with Kim, showing urgency. While some criticize Kim for being overly self-centered in politics, Yoon also revealed a rigid attitude of "accept my plan." Political commentators see Yoon’s stumbling over the campaign committee formation, his first political vision project since entering politics, as a major negative factor.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is meeting with Koichi Aiboshi, the Japanese Ambassador to Korea, at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 26th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

However, Yoon has also gained something. Regardless of who becomes the overall campaign committee chairman, he has imprinted on the public that he himself is the "one-top." As his political career has progressed, the frequency of self-inflicted "own goals" due to gaffes has decreased, and his ability to maintain stable support rates has alleviated much of the political novice anxiety. His refusal to be led by Kim also instilled the perception that he is a candidate capable of an independent campaign.

Through this process, Yoon’s position, speaking power, and control within the party have strengthened, which is a gain. This means that regardless of Kim’s status, Yoon can expand his position and activity range within the campaign committee on his own. Also, Yoon personally taking charge of key executive-level appointments is positive in terms of campaign committee control and leadership enhancement. However, criticism that Yoon’s executive appointments lack freshness is a challenge to be addressed going forward. Political commentator Yoo Chang-sun criticized Yoon’s personnel philosophy by citing on social media the appointment of former lawmaker Kim Sung-tae, who is currently on trial for preferential hiring of his daughter, as head of the campaign committee’s functional headquarters.

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