PPP believes Yoon’s exit paves way for fresh start two weeks before election, but critics say it's too late
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol's departure from the People Power Party on Saturday is expected to boost the party's chances with moderate voters and win back longtime supporters who opposed the failed martial law bid.
While some painted a rosy outlook for the party, critics expressed skepticism towards the move carried out less than three weeks before the June 3 presidential election, saying that the timing of the departure was "too late."
People Power Party's chief spokesperson Shin Dong-wook labeled Yoon's departure as a "turning point (for the party) towards solid victory in the presidential election in its competition with Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung," in a Saturday briefing. He added that the departure would allow the party "to be born again" and better brace for the upcoming election.
Shin's remarks came as recent polls showed the People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo had failed to close the gap in support rate with front-runner Lee. A Gallup Korea poll released Friday, a day before Yoon's announcement, showed that 29 percent of respondents supported Kim, with Lee on 51 percent. The poll involved 1,004 eligible voters aged 18 or older across the country.
The same poll showed Kim had failed to ensure overwhelming support in conservative strongholds. Support for Kim in Daegu and other conservative strongholds in North Gyeongsang Province came to 48 percent. The corresponding number for Lee in the same area came to 34 percent.
Echoing Shin's sentiment, the People Power Party's new interim leader Rep. Kim Yong-tae vowed to put the risks associated with Yoon's impeachment behind it and pull the party toward "the unity of the people." Kim officially requested Yoon leave the party in a press briefing held soon after he was named interim leader.
Yoon's departure has apparently prompted former People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon to join Kim's election campaign. Han, a popular conservative politician who had initially turned down Kim's offer to join the party's election campaign committee, expressed willingness to lend his hand following Yoon's announcement to leave. "I plan to meet with the people on the scene starting next week," Han wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday.
Despite the optimism shared by several conservative politicians, minor conservative New Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok pointed out that the effects of the former president's departure would be minimal.
"If the People Power Party actively pursued and led the cutting off of its ties (with Yoon) then it would have showcased the will of the party, but this only made it seem like Yoon himself made an honorable choice by yielding to the request of the party," Lee wrote in a Saturday Facebook post. "It would be difficult for (the departure) to affect the voter sentiment among moderates."
Park Sang-byeong, a political commentator and professor at Inha University, said it would be difficult for Kim and the People Power Party to lure in more voters with the public perceiving Kim as Yoon's aide.
"Whether Yoon had made the decision the leave or not, the public knows Kim is Yoon's closest aide. On top of it, the timing of the departure was too late — it is nearly impossible for Kim to garner support at the moment that could effectively counter Lee," he said.
Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee dismissed Yoon's departure as a "political tactic," while talking to reporters after a campaign event in Gwangju on Saturday.
As Yoon announced his departure Saturday, he asked voters to support the People Power Party presidential candidate Kim. He explained that "leaving the People Power Party is the best decision he can make to help (the party) secure victory in the presidential election and protect the liberal democracy here."
However, he did not apologize for his Dec. 3 martial law bid.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
