Yoon's Campaign Committee Loses 'Kim Jong-in and Lee Jun-seok' Duo... Democratic Party Maintains Composure

‘Left-Click’ Policy Pioneer Kim Jong-in
‘Young Male’ Vote Appeal Lee Jun-seok
Strong Threat Disappears
‘Overconfidence Alert’ Issued but Encouraged
Atmosphere Evident... One-Team Principle Differentiation

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Democratic Party of Korea, benefiting from the internal strife within the People Power Party, is clearly buoyed by the concurrent rise in approval ratings. As the once most threatening duo of ‘Kim Jong-in and Lee Jun-seok’ has split from candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, optimism is emerging that candidate Lee Jae-myung will hold the advantage in the upcoming one-on-one showdown.

Internal warnings such as "Don’t pop the champagne too early" and "Don’t let your guard down" have also been issued (former leader Lee Hae-chan, Representative Jung Sung-ho). Kang Hoon-sik, head of the Democratic Party’s Strategic Planning Headquarters, appeared on the radio on the 5th and said, "We are not in a position to judge the opposition’s situation as either a boon or a bane," adding, "Rather, this is a time to be very cautious. The fate of the Democratic Party hinges on whether it changes or not right now."

However, beneath the surface of the campaign headquarters, the optimism runs deeper. Having already experienced the pains of transitioning from a ‘mammoth to slim’ campaign headquarters last November, the Democratic Party anticipates that the People Power Party will waste considerable time on restructuring and reforming their campaign headquarters.

Moreover, considering the possibility of approval ratings stabilizing after the Beijing Winter Olympics (starting February 4), there is a forecast that candidate Yoon will find it difficult to stage a turnaround. A key Democratic Party campaign official said in a phone interview, "It took the Democratic Party a month and ten days to streamline and stabilize the campaign headquarters’ reporting system. At this point, it is unlikely that reforming the campaign headquarters will have a meaningful effect before the presidential election."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is attending and speaking at a debate hosted by the Korea Newspaper and Broadcasting Editors Association held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Above all, the ‘Kim Jong-in and Lee Jun-seok’ duo was seen by the Democratic Party as a threatening factor due to their ‘left-click’ policy preemption and appeal to young male voters. This is linked to the Democratic Party’s vulnerabilities among moderate voters and the 2030 demographic.

A Democratic Party second-term lawmaker said in a phone interview, "There was a judgment that if Chairman Kim Jong-in were to preempt agendas like the anti-discrimination law, which the Democratic Party could not achieve, or build an image as a ‘progressive liberal politician,’ it would pose a threat to us," adding, "Now, that risk has disappeared."

Meanwhile, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung plans to differentiate himself from candidate Yoon by visiting Gwangju, the Democratic Party’s stronghold, with former leader Lee Nak-yeon on the same day, embarking on a one-team campaign. The strategy is to capture the relatively slow-rising support in Honam and widen the gap in approval ratings with the People Power Party candidate, who is embroiled in internal discord.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, are attending the '2022 Stock Market Festival' held on the 3rd in front of the Korea Exchange headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

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