Woo Sang-ho "Yoo Seung-min May Possibly Become the R Party Leader... Things May Not Go as Planned"

"'It Could Create an Atmosphere Like 'Let's Rather Support Yoo Seung-min''"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Regarding the ruling People Power Party's amendment of the party constitution and regulations to reflect 100% of party member votes and introduce a runoff voting system in the party leadership election next March, Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, analyzed it as "a method to unify the leading pro-Yoon candidates in the runoff vote." Nevertheless, he analyzed that the possibility remains for former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, a leading 'anti-Yoon' candidate, to become party leader.

On the 26th, Woo appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Show' and said, "(It) will not go as the ruling party expects."

He analyzed that it is not easy to categorize the current ruling party leadership candidates simply as 'anti-Yoo Seung-min.' He pointed out, "Lawmaker Jang Je-won is said to be aligned with Lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun, Lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong seems to think he will run himself, and Lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo gives off a vibe of 'keep your promise,'" adding, "Na Kyung-won (Vice Chair of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee) seems to claim she is the most popular no matter how you look at it, and as for Hwang Kyo-ahn (former party leader), I don't really know what he is doing."

Woo said, "The most complicated calculation is whether the changed rules will benefit so-called 'pro-Yoon candidates' by organizing the candidate lineup, but from my perspective, it doesn't seem likely," adding, "ultimately, since it cannot be done artificially, they will probably unify the leading pro-Yoon candidates through a runoff vote." This recent change in the ruling party's leadership election rules can be interpreted as an attempt to consolidate Yoon's support amid the proliferation of candidates.

However, despite consolidating Yoon's support through the runoff vote, there is an analysis that former lawmaker Yoo still has a chance to be elected party leader. Woo said, "Party leadership elections have never gone smoothly according to such calculations and plans," and he predicted that Yoo's chance of becoming party leader is "not easy given the current atmosphere, but surprises are possible."

He added, "Now that the party is in power, the level of desperation (like when former leader Lee Jun-seok was elected) probably isn't there, but usually, these cases involve strategic calculations among candidates looking ahead to the next term," explaining, "For example, if conflicts arise among those who advanced to the runoff and sought to become party leader by gaining pro-Yoon or Yoon's support, a grassroots atmosphere might develop saying, 'In that case, let's rather support Yoo Seung-min.'"

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