Yoon Election Headquarters' Presidential Breakthrough... 'Unify and Strengthen Attacks on Lee Jae-myung'

Kwon Young-se, Head of the People Power Party Election Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] As the gap in approval ratings between Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, narrows once again, Kwon Young-se, the People Power Party's general election campaign headquarters chief, finds his mind complicated. It is not easy to devise a strategy to increase approval ratings amid the stagnant unification issue with Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party presidential candidate.

Kwon Young-se, head of the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, is delivering opening remarks at the full meeting of the election campaign headquarters held at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Kwon believes that unification of the opposition camp must be done unconditionally. He said, "Candidate Yoon has repeatedly promised the people that he will achieve proper national unity beyond factions and regions," adding, "Yoon's thoughts on candidate Ahn, who shares the same goal of regime change, are no different." He emphasized, "Although there has been some confusion surrounding unification, I believe it is part of the process toward greater integration and a more united Republic of Korea."

Meeting with reporters, Kwon also said, "The issue of opposition unification currently aligns with the fact that the vast majority of the people want regime change," and "Since opposition unification is also about wanting regime change, the party will continue to make efforts in that regard." Kwon appears to be making an all-out effort to appease candidate Ahn, even issuing an unusual warning targeting Lee Jun-seok, the People Power Party leader who has been at odds with Ahn.

The level of offensive against candidate Lee is also increasing. Until early this week, Kwon showed a relaxed attitude, saying, "The Democratic Party candidate's week was truly pitiful to watch," and "No matter how impatient, I hope at least a minimum level of dignity is maintained." However, as the gap narrowed in polls, he intensified the offensive related to candidate Lee. The main points are the Daejang-dong development allegations during Lee’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam and the corporate card issue during his time as governor of Gyeonggi Province. Regarding Lee’s camp’s attempt to define the Daejang-dong allegations as the Yoon Seok-yeol Gate, Kwon countered, "It is no different from Lee Wan-yong calling Ahn Jung-geun a traitor."

In the remaining ten days until the presidential election, Kwon is expected to accelerate the rift with the Democratic Party and candidate Lee. Candidate Yoon has targeted Democratic Party supporters who are lukewarm toward candidate Lee by saying at every campaign site, "There are many good people in the Democratic Party as well." Regarding this, Kwon explained, "Candidate Yoon has expressed a firm will to judge Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party and to unite with the healthy forces within the Democratic Party."

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