Ahn Cheol-soo's Rising Approval Ratings... Lee Jun-seok Says "It's Just a Fleeting Dream Anyway"

"Yoon, Our Vanguard Commander Who Must Bring About Regime Change"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, are shaking hands at the party meeting held at the National Assembly on the evening of the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 11th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, commented on the recent rise in support for Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the People’s Party, saying, "It will eventually be like a fleeting spring dream (一場春夢)."

Lee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live' that evening and said, "Ahn has participated in many major elections including presidential elections, and in every election, his support rate shows a slight uptick at least once in the middle," adding, "In the last presidential election, which was held amid impeachment, Ahn even came close to the then first-place candidate, President Moon Jae-in."

He continued, "If I were to describe Ahn’s politics in one sentence, it would be 'He does not yield when he should, and yields when he should not.'"

He said, "During the Seoul mayoral race, he should not have yielded to Mayor Park Won-soon, nor should he have yielded to President Moon Jae-in; he should have run until the end himself. Since then, he has continuously failed to yield when he should."

Ahn was expected to win the Seoul mayoral by-election in September 2011 but yielded his candidacy to independent candidate Park Won-soon. Ahead of the 2012 presidential election, he withdrew midway while attempting to unify with Moon Jae-in, then the Democratic United Party candidate.

Lee stated, "The reason it will eventually be like a fleeting spring dream is that the capacity and preparation to support it were insufficient," and added, "This time too, I think he will engage in anti-politics based on a false equivalence, saying 'I dislike Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl, so people like them should come to me.' If that happens, his support rate will drop again."

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, is giving a lecture at the "20th Presidential Candidate Invitation Sae-eol Morning Dialogue Lecture" held at the Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon on the morning of the 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the criticism that the support base of the 2030 generation has shifted from Yoon Seok-youl to Ahn, Lee said, "I believe the support for Ahn is temporary," and added, "It is a process of regaining the high support rate of the younger generation right after our candidate was selected."

About Yoon, Lee said, "In fact, our candidate had been shrinking and passive in politics so far, but since last weekend, he has taken a very proactive stance to appeal to voters, and is actually recovering the votes he had lost," and praised, "If he continues like this, I think he can win the presidency."

When asked, "What does Yoon Seok-youl mean to Lee Jun-seok?" he answered, "He is our vanguard commander who must be elected this time to bring about a change of government."

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