Jo Hae-jin "Ruling party sending love calls to Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoo Seung-min? ... Afraid of opposition unification's explosive power"

"Strategy of the Democratic Party to Capture Votes in Case of Unification"

Rep. Jo Hae-jin of the People Power Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Jo Haejin, a member of the People Power Party, analyzed that the Democratic Party's repeated 'love calls' to Ahn Cheolsoo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, and former lawmaker Yoo Seungmin are a strategic approach "because they fear the explosive power of opposition unification."

In an interview with BBS Radio's 'Park Kyungsoo's Morning Journal' on the 17th, Rep. Jo said, "It seems to be a strategy to prevent the votes of voters supporting candidate Ahn from concentrating solely on the unified candidate and to draw some votes back to the Democratic Party."

Regarding the Democratic Party's recent indication of a possible alliance with former lawmaker Yoo, he stated, "They have crossed the river that they could do it together," adding, "It is an exaggeration to say that the Democratic Party can work with former lawmaker Yoo. Even if they say so, I believe there is no possibility." Previously, Rep. Jeong Seongho, who served as the chief special advisor to the Democratic Party's election campaign committee, and Rep. Park Gwangon, the head of the campaign's public relations team, mentioned the so-called 'unified government theory,' saying that they could "sufficiently work together" with former lawmaker Yoo.

In response, Rep. Jo analyzed that this is because "they fear the explosive power of opposition candidate unification" and that it is a strategy to prevent voters' support from concentrating on a single unified candidate if the opposition unifies.

Rep. Jo also viewed positively the possibility of unification between candidate Yoon and candidate Ahn. He said, "It won't be easy, but if they respect and consider each other, I expect unification will happen," adding, "It is possible if there is mutual trust."

However, regarding the unification method based on public opinion polls proposed by candidate Ahn, he drew a line, saying, "It is hard to accept. (During the Seoul mayoral by-election last April,) there were many controversies over reverse voting. It is not appropriate to do so until the presidential election." He emphasized, "At a time when the big task of regime change lies ahead, I believe that a decision based on trust between candidates is the natural course."

Furthermore, about candidate Ahn, he said, "If he contributed to regime change through political determination, the question of what role candidate Ahn will play in the new government can be approached with respect and guarantee," adding, "If candidate Ahn has dreams for the next presidential election, I believe consideration for that can naturally be included."

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