Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Law and Lee Jae-myung Risks... 2024 Political Variables

"Hard to Give Positive Evaluation of Han Dong-hoon Without Special Prosecutor Law"
"Division Caused by Lee Jae-myung... Biggest Risk for the Opposition"

With less than 100 days remaining until the April general election, the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act' and the 'Lee Jae-myung risk' are being cited as the biggest variables determining the election outcome among politicians.

Former Justice Party lawmaker Park Won-seok appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 2nd and said, "Which risk is greater between the Kim Geon-hee risk and the Lee Jae-myung risk will be a very important criterion in the general election," adding, "Right now, the Kim Geon-hee risk seems much bigger."

Former lawmaker Park referred to suspicions surrounding President Yoon Seok-yeol's spouse Kim Geon-hee's receipt of luxury bags, saying, "Even though the public clearly sees the scene, there is no comment," and added, "Even if it is a hidden camera, can you just accept it? There is no judgment or mention about it, so people will think this is a sanctuary." He continued, "Can the public accept such a sanctuary?"

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party and acting party leader, along with lawmakers, came out of the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 28th to picket outside the chamber when the so-called 'double special prosecution laws'?including the special prosecutor bill on stock manipulation allegations involving Kim Gun-hee, wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol, related to Deutsche Motors, and the special prosecutor bill on the Daejang-dong 5 billion club allegations?were submitted. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Jang Sung-chul, director of the Public Opinion Center, predicted that Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, will succeed or fail depending on how he responds to the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act.' On the same radio program that day, Director Jang said, "The best way is for Emergency Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon to persuade President Yoon Seok-yeol and Kim Geon-hee to accept the special prosecutor act," adding, "That aligns with the chairman's repeated statements in his New Year's and inaugural speeches about the rule of law and decisions that meet the public's expectations."

Director Jang said, "Without addressing this (the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act), it is very difficult to positively evaluate Han Dong-hoon's future political moves," and criticized, "Chairman Han attacking by saying '(the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act) is a bad law, a political bill ahead of the general election' and 'Lee Jae-myung is worse, the Democratic Party is worse' does not seem to be an effective attack strategy."

As a political variable for the Democratic Party, the position of Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, is mentioned. In a situation where the regime judgment theory is not translating into Democratic Party approval ratings, there is speculation that if Lee makes a decision such as resigning from the party leadership ahead of the general election, the atmosphere could change.

Director Jang explained, "Realistically, the reason Lee Jae-myung insists on maintaining the party leadership position now seems to be to give many nominations to his people," adding, "Once that is over, there is no need to cling to the party leadership. He would want to carry the image of a party leader or former party leader who achieved a great victory in the general election."

He added, "For the People Power Party, they have been attacking with 'Lee Jae-myung is bad,' but if (Lee) says, 'Okay, I'm bad? I'll step back,' then there is no target."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the party leadership are paying respects at the tomb of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun in Bongha Village, Jinyeong-eup, Gimhae City, Gyeongsangnam-do, on the afternoon of January 1, the first day of the new year. Photo by Yonhap News

Former lawmaker Park said, "Because the regime judgment theory is strong, it is clear that the Democratic Party currently has a favorable environment for the general election," but also pointed out, "Lee Jae-myung is the biggest risk, and the resulting division and party split are the biggest risks."

Former lawmaker Park said, "There is a tendency for the Democratic Party to belittle and underestimate the new party that former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon wants to create, which is similar to how the People Power Party talks about former leader Lee Jun-seok's new party," adding, "But I think the impact of the new party is unknown. With the regime judgment theory this high, the fact that the approval ratings of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party are competing within the margin of error means that the Democratic Party is not readily accepted as an alternative, and if another alternative emerges and seems somewhat viable, public opinion can change rapidly."

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