Ha Tae-kyung: "If Lee Nak-yeon Leads the Democratic Party, Even 120 Seats for the Ruling Party Will Be Difficult"

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon returned to Korea after a one-year study abroad in the United States, drawing attention to his potential role, while Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, evaluated, "If former leader Lee took charge of the Democratic Party, it would be difficult for the People Power Party to secure even 120 seats in the general election."

On the 27th, Ha said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' program, "If a moderate and rational figure like former leader Lee takes charge of the party, our general election result would not be 170 seats but rather 130 or even 120 seats would be difficult to achieve."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "(If former leader Lee leads the Democratic Party,) the Democratic Party will achieve a landslide victory," and "If Lee Jae-myung leads the general election, the party will be trapped in the 'Lee Jae-myung frame,' making it difficult for the Democratic Party to have an easy election, and the third parties will grow significantly."

Ha said that former leader Lee was hurt after mentioning the 'pardons of former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak' and stated, "He needs to be re-evaluated." He explained, "In the past, the approval ratings dropped sharply because of the pardons of the two former presidents, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. But looking at it now, it was a vision and solution of a great politician," adding, "it was a vision and solution of a great politician, but it might not have resonated well with the public in a short period. It shows a lack of political finesse."

Within the Democratic Party, there are concerns that the emergence of former leader Lee could intensify conflicts between the pro-Lee Jae-myung and anti-Lee factions. However, Ha said, "Conflicts may intensify, but if they are resolved well, synergy can be created," and added, "but I don't think they will be resolved well; there is such a perception within the party."

Regarding reports that President Yoon Suk-yeol privately set the goal of securing 170 seats in next year's general election, Ha said, "Winning the general election is the top priority, but if nominations are led by prosecutors or dominated by prosecutors, can we win? Some commentators keep saying that President Yoon wouldn't know this, but he does," and added, "(The goal of 170 seats) means he will do his best to raise the president's approval rating."

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