[Current Affairs Show] Seong Chihun: "Song Younggil Should Yield Gyeyang-B to Kim Namjun"

Seong Chihun: "For the Democratic Party, Jang Donghyuk is a welcome figure"
Kang Jeonae: "If Han Donghoon runs and loses, he may never recover politically"
Seong Chihun: "Han Donghoon will run in Daegu"

■ Broadcast: The Asia Business Daily "So Jongsup's Current Affairs Show" (Mon-Fri, 4-5 p.m.)

■ Host: Political specialist So Jongsup ■ Producer: PD Park Sumin

■ Guests: Former People Power Party spokesperson Kang Jeonae, Democratic Party of Korea deputy spokesperson Seong Chihun (February 25)

※ When quoting this article, please make sure to cite "So Jongsup's Current Affairs Show".

So Jongsup: Hello, everyone. This is So Jongsup's Current Affairs Show. We will begin today's live talk with former People Power Party spokesperson Kang Jeonae and Democratic Party of Korea deputy spokesperson Seong Chihun. Regarding People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk, senior figures in the party are proposing meetings, there is talk of bringing the constituency party heads who demanded his resignation before the Ethics Committee, and there is even word of pushing to file complaints against the lawmakers who accompanied former leader Han Donghoon on his trip to Daegu. Various developments are unfolding.

Kang Jeonae: You could say the party situation is nothing short of chaotic. The first-trial ruling for former President Yoon Sukyeol has also come out, hasn't it? With a heavy sentence of life imprisonment handed down, the situation was already difficult, but the party is, how should I put it, showing signs of drifting further away from the standards of ordinary citizens, and I personally find this very frustrating. As a sustainable conservative party, we are the only ones who can stop the ruling party that is running amok, but it makes me question whether we still have the qualifications to do so.

So Jongsup: Are you saying that, in reality, this frustrating situation has no choice but to continue as it is?

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Kang Jeonae: I do not think there will be any situation where leader Jang Donghyuk voluntarily resigns or anything like that. Even former lawmaker Lee Junghyun, who has come in as chair of the Nomination Management Committee, showed up wearing a field jacket, and I believe that for politicians, even their attire is a message. I imagine the public must have been taken aback. It also makes me think we cannot have high expectations.

Jang Donghyuk seems to have given up on the local elections

Seong Chihun: It looks like they have given up on the elections. It seems they have given up on the local elections. Ahead of nationwide elections, every party tries to broaden its centrist appeal. But after the presidential ruling came out on the 19th, the statement released on the 20th defied everyone's expectations. I thought they would issue an ambiguous stance. I was shocked when leader Jang openly said he would move further to the right. Then he said he would cut ties with those calling for a break with him, which is virtually a far-right declaration that he will go together with people like Jeon Hangil and Go Seongguk. In the Republic of Korea, well, a far-right party, as opposed to a conservative party, cannot become a governing party.

So Jongsup: There is also a lot of talk that his moves are made with an eye on the next party leadership race...

Kang Jeonae: I do not quite understand whether that is even possible. Right now, we have more than 1 million party members paying party dues. And in the past, former leader Han Donghoon was elected with a 63% approval rating. I believe that shows how many party members held centrist conservative views. So I am wondering whether, as they say, those people are simply choosing not to respond at all.

In a way, it now appears that leader Jang Donghyuk has completely fixed his stance. There are no senior figures in the party who can pull him along and say, "Let us move forward with a consistent line like this." Because of that, in this confusing situation, we will eventually have to face the local elections and then the party convention will come around again, and I think leader Jang Donghyuk will continue to try to build up his own presence. Even as the path of an individual politician, I do not think this is good, and from the People Power Party's perspective, this is something that really needs to be reconsidered.

For the Democratic Party, Jang Donghyuk is a very welcome figure, an ally

Seong Chihun: Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Kim Jonghyuk was kicked out for saying, "Do you want to become Hitler?" But leader Jang is actually acting like Hitler. Punishing those who oppose him. Leader Jang Donghyuk will say this: "I did not punish them; someone filed a complaint, and an independent body, the Ethics Tribunal, made the decision." If you are the party leader, when people are disciplined for criticizing you or the president, you should know how to hit the brakes on that.

For the Democratic Party, leader Jang Donghyuk seems like a very welcome figure. He is an ally. Because the Democratic Party is also going to continue having factional conflicts and ideological struggles these days. Every time we have an ideological struggle, we can say this: "We are not kicking people out like the People Power Party. We are having healthy ideological debates." Since we now have a comparison, from our side, we can say, "Thank you, leader Jang Donghyuk."

So Jongsup: Out of all the possible regions, former leader Han Donghoon chose to go to Daegu, and he says he will tour the country starting from Daegu. How do you assess that decision by former leader Han Donghoon and his camp?

Kang Jeonae: It is exactly the same as what former leader Lee Junseok did. He keeps going to Daegu because he wants to show that he will become a new leader of the conservative camp. But even former leader Lee did not actually receive such a high vote share in Daegu during the last presidential election. And for former leader Han as well, if you look at recent opinion polls, should I say that party members are somewhat accepting of the disciplinary action against him? The percentages are coming out relatively high. I am personally curious about the reactions of the people at Seomun Market. In this confused situation where he himself does not know where he should go, I think he is first trying to gauge the atmosphere.

On the afternoon of the 25th, Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party, who visited Gyodong in Jung-gu, Daegu, was looking around the street. Yonhap News

Seong Chihun: I think he will ultimately run in Daegu. I do not see any constituency other than Daegu. Because Busan will be difficult. In Busan, it will be hard to even set up a proper match-up, and in Daegu there have been many cases where people were elected as independents. It is a stronghold of conservatism, but when the People Power Party, as a conservative party, went too far by denying someone a nomination or by kicking someone out excessively, there is a history of Daegu citizens choosing those people. So even from our party's perspective, we see former leader Han Donghoon as someone who was pushed out excessively; he was effectively expelled.

Recently, leader Jang Donghyuk went there, right? It was pitiful.Watching him eat noodles, it looked almost like noodles soaked in tears. I have never seen anyone eat noodles that sadly. He himself knows it. "Wow, there is no response." Seomun Market in Daegu is a place where, at the very least, whenever the leader of a conservative party visited, they were always greeted with a warm welcome...

Kang Jeonae: He may want to run, of course. But I am not sure whether it will be practically possible.There might not be any vacant seats. The seats of incumbent lawmakers might not open up. And former leader Han Donghoon cannot run for a local government chief.For now, it seems he is starting with Seomun Market to show the image of a new conservative leader, but I do not think they have any clearly defined plan yet.He is also someone who did not run in the last party convention because he thought it would be difficult. If he runs this time and actually loses, he could become completely unable to make a comeback. I am sure he is agonizing over this.

So Jongsup: In Incheon Gyeyang-B,former spokesperson Kim Namjun was actually expected to run, but former leader Song Younggil has moved his residence there.

Song Younggil (right), former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, attended a book launch for Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hyunhee at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 24th and are talking. Yonhap News

Seong Chihun: In fact, for a general election, you do not have to live there. He is sending a political message: "I am going to run here."I think there needs to be coordination, and that holding a primary there is inappropriate.Saying, "I handed it over back then, so now give it back to me," does not look like a move toward a bigger kind of politics.It would be better to yield to a new political newcomer. And there is a very high possibility that another constituency will be created in Incheon.For the success of the Lee Jaemyung administration, rather than showing an image of internal conflict, if he says he will challenge himself somewhere else, his image will probably improve.I think that if he does that, he will become a strong contender in August. Although a primary is the most democratic method, if you hold one here, you end up using only one of these two options.I do not think there is any need to use only one. To make use of both, I believe it would be better for the party leadership to step in and separate their paths.

Kang Jeonae:I believe politicians should create a sense of indebtedness among party members.Right now, Democratic Party members are in a situation where such a move is desperately needed, given all the talk about the conflict between the "Myeong" and "Cheong" factions. If this time, in the constituency where President Lee Jaemyung briefly served, former spokesperson Kim Namjun, who can only be seen as part of the Lee Jaemyung line and is a newcomer, is given the seat through Song Younggil's concession,then it becomes an opportunity for party members to reconsider Song Younggil. His position within the party would become much stronger, and I think this could be a decision that leaves party members feeling indebted to him.

So Jongsup: If he enters the National Assembly, do you think he will run for party leader?

Seong Chihun: I think he will. There was a poll on the next party leader, and if leader Song Younggil surges ahead, I think there is a possibility that Prime Minister Kim Minseok will continue in his post as prime minister. Because of that, if he wants to secure the hearts of party members now, as I said, it would be good to give party members the impression that he is yielding once again this time. So once he enters the National Assembly, I am sure he will definitely run.

Kang Jeonae: I think Prime Minister Kim Minseok may feel disappointed. Because no one in the Democratic Party expected that leader Song Younggil would be acquitted in the appeals trial. In a way, Prime Minister Kim Minseok had been moving forward step by step as the post-Lee Jaemyung figure. Then suddenly, Song Younggil appears andstarts rapidly rising as a potential party leader.In that case, for how long is he supposed to remain prime minister, and what great meaning is there in simply returning to the National Assembly? So I think Prime Minister Kim Minseok also needs to sort out his own position to some extent.

So Jongsup: All right, thank you both for your insights today.

Kang Jeonae and Seong Chihun: Thank you.

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