In Realmeter's First Poll, Open Democratic Party Support Rate at 11.6%
[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The proportional alliance party is spreading into an internal 'family feud' within the Democratic Party of Korea. With the Open Democratic Party included in the polls, the support rate for the Open Citizens Party has reportedly plummeted by nearly 10 percentage points. As the ruling party's support base splits into two, it is turning into a 'zero-sum' game.
Woo Hee-jong, co-representative of the Citizens Party, appeared on MBC Radio on the morning of the 26th and said, "The Open Democratic Party is not even at the level of a legitimate or illegitimate child; I see it as a completely different party that is distant from the Democratic Party." When asked, "Are you saying it cannot be considered part of the Democratic Party faction at all?" he replied, "Yes." On the previous day, Lee Hae-chan, the party leader, also made a sharp remark at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, saying, "Some people who left the Democratic Party have created a party with a similar name, but I ask them not to falsely claim to represent the Democratic Party."
These strong statements are interpreted as a sense of crisis due to the high support rate of the Open Democratic Party. According to a Realmeter survey released that day (commissioned by TBS, conducted from the 23rd to 25th among 1,518 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, with a 95% confidence level and a sampling error of ±2.5 percentage points), the Open Democratic Party, led by former lawmakers Jeong Bong-ju and Son Hye-won, secured 11.6% in the first party vote poll. Meanwhile, the Citizens Party's support rate sharply dropped by 9.1 percentage points from the previous week (37.8%) to 28.9%.
If this continues, it is analyzed that a decrease in the number of seats for the Open Democratic Party is inevitable. Initially, the Citizens Party was expected to secure around 17 seats in this general election. The Democratic Party, which placed its proportional representation candidates in later positions, was expected to gain 7 seats, but if the Open Democratic Party takes seats, it is analyzed that it will be only 3 or 4 seats. The Democratic Party secured 13 proportional representation seats in the 20th general election.
On the other hand, the Open Democratic Party guarantees securing at least 10 seats. Son Hye-won, a lawmaker of the Open Democratic Party, appeared on KBS Radio on the 24th and said, "It has only been 16 days since the party was founded on the 7th, but it is showing a very steep upward curve. Our goal is to elect all twenty members and form a negotiation group," adding, "Even conservatively, it will be 12 seats."
Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Choi Bae-geun and Woo Hee-jong, co-leaders of the Together Citizens' Party, are holding a meeting at the National Assembly on the 25th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
The political spotlight is focused on whether the Democratic Party and Citizens Party, who are fighting for the 'first party' status, will join forces with the Open Democratic Party. The Democratic Party and Citizens Party sides are still drawing a clear line. Representative Woo said, "Those in the Open Democratic Party are people who were sanctioned or disciplined by the Democratic Party," emphasizing, "If such people become lawmakers outside and then merge back into the Democratic Party, it nullifies the Democratic Party's own standards and disciplinary measures." Earlier, Yoon Ho-jung, secretary-general of the Democratic Party, also repeatedly drew a line, saying, "It is a party unrelated to us."
Meanwhile, the Open Democratic Party is expected to announce its own general election pledges soon. These will include a regional party-list proportional representation system and a recall system for lawmakers by the people. In particular, the regional proportional representation system was also a campaign pledge of President Moon Jae-in. A representative of the Open Democratic Party said, "We will also push for electoral reform after the general election," adding, "President Moon Jae-in initially advocated returning to the original regional proportional representation system." Additionally, Kim Seong-hoe, spokesperson for the Open Democratic Party, stated in a commentary, "It is regrettable as comrades sharing the name Democratic Party. The people want the Open Democratic Party and the Democratic Party to go together."
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