'Close Contest' Exit Poll, Opposition Party in Chaos... "Targeting Young Male Voters, Realized There Are Many Losses"

Diagnosis of Various Causes Including Omicron Spread and Real Estate Policies
"Sincere Apology"... Reflection Messages on Election Strategies and More

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader, are talking while looking at a smartphone in the vote counting situation room set up at the National Assembly Library on the 9th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Contrary to expectations within the People Power Party, the 'neck-and-neck' exit poll results prompted the party to look for causes in various areas, including the surge in COVID-19 cases and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate's real estate policy strategy. They also issued an early message of reflection regarding their failure to secure strong support from key demographics such as those in their 20s and the Honam region.

On the 9th, Lee Cheol-gyu, head of the Strategy Planning Headquarters of the election campaign, said in an interview with TV Chosun, "We are somewhat bewildered by the lower-than-expected announcement," but added, "Considering previous opinion poll results, we expect the actual vote count to differ from the exit poll results." Regarding the unexpected outcome, Lee noted, "As the election approached, the rapid spread of the Omicron variant led to a decrease in voter turnout."

There was also analysis that Lee’s emphasis on 'supply' in his real estate policy narrowed the vote gap. Former lawmaker Lee Hye-hoon said on SBS, "Someone who had supported the Moon Jae-in administration’s real estate policies for five years suddenly accepted all the pledges from the People Power Party shortly before the election?promises to increase supply and lower taxes." She added, "Many good citizens believed those promises, which may explain why, despite strong desires for regime change, the exit poll results showed a smaller vote gap."

The party also deeply reflected on the failure of their strategy to resonate with voters. Kim Yong-tae, head of the Policy Planning Headquarters of the campaign, mentioned in an MBC interview, "We have things to reflect on," referring to the low support rates among voters in their 20s and in the Honam region across various exit polls. He analyzed, "We made great efforts to target the 20s demographic, especially 'I-dae-nam' (men in their 20s), introducing policies such as abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. While some of these scored points, we realized this also caused many losses." He also expressed regret, saying, "Former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in and leader Lee Jun-seok put significant effort into Honam, expecting residents to see a difference from the former Liberty Korea Party and People Power Party, but the exit poll results fell short of expectations."

Supreme Council member Cho Soo-jin also said on Channel A, "Until the very end, the Democratic Party encouraged acquaintances by phone. I received encouragement calls from the Democratic Party six times a day," adding, "This shows how fiercely they campaigned until the last moment, which is something our People Power Party must reflect on." She concluded, "I sincerely apologize."

Meanwhile, exit polls from the three terrestrial broadcasters showed Lee with 47.8% and People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl with 48.4%, a 0.6 percentage point lead for Yoon. In contrast, JTBC’s exit poll showed Lee leading with 48.4% to Yoon’s 47.7%, a 0.7 percentage point gap.

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