Yoo Si-min "Minjoo Party at Least 155 Seats" vs Park Hyung-joon "Need to Wait and See"

Yoo Si-min "The Minjoo Party at least 155 seats, United Party up to 130 seats"
Park Hyung-joon "We need to see if the exit poll results match the actual vote count"

Yoo Si-min, Chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation (left), Park Hyung-joon, Co-Chairman of the United Future Party Joint Election Committee (right). Photo by KBS, captured from 'Choices That Change My Life, 2020 General Election'

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Yoo Si-min, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, predicted on the 15th that the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (Deobureo Minjoo) would secure at least 155 seats, while the United Future Party (Tonghapdang) would have a maximum of 130 seats in the 21st general election.

Park Hyung-joon, co-chairman of the Future United Party's joint election committee, forecasted, "We need to wait and see whether the exit poll results will match the actual vote count."

Director Yoo appeared on KBS's election broadcast "Choices That Change My Life, 2020 General Election" and said, "Personally, I feel a lot of regret because I was heavily used in the final stages due to the talk of 180 seats. I wonder if it turned out this way because of me, and I feel some self-blame."

Chairman Park analyzed, "Overall, I think the exit poll results reflect what we were concerned about."

Regarding the exit poll analysis that the Democratic Party could secure a majority of seats, Director Yoo said, "I don't know how the United Future Party will act in the 21st National Assembly, but looking at the past three years, they opposed everything and boycotted the National Assembly countless times, so securing 180 seats is really important."

He added, "So I had that hope and mentioned it, but Professor Park Hyung-joon strongly opposed it. The 180 seats projection is the maximum, so I think it will be difficult to reach that."

On the 15th, when the 21st National Assembly elections were held nationwide, voters were lined up in a long queue to vote at the 3rd polling station in Gyo-nam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Chairman Park said, "If the exit poll results are accurate, the United Future Party achieved a landslide victory in the Daegu, Busan, and Gyeongnam regions. The same goes for the Gangnam area," and analyzed, "The conservative base was quite united, but they failed to reach the younger and moderate voters centered in the metropolitan area."

He added, "This election did not reflect judgment on the government's failures over the past three years due to the COVID-19 disaster, and there was also controversy over the United Future Party candidates' offensive remarks, which prevented them from capturing the votes of moderates and young people."

Regarding the evaluation that political polarization may deepen, Director Yoo said, "There are aspects divided by the political sphere and aspects divided by the citizens themselves," but added, "Even if the United Future Party sweeps the entire Yeongnam region including Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, aren't there many competitive districts?" He continued, "The fact that the vote share of losing candidates is not as one-sidedly low as before is a result of Korean politics overcoming regionalism."

In response, Chairman Park said, "The Democratic Party's efforts to establish roots in Yeongnam over the past four years should be acknowledged, but if they lose this time, they must reflect on their failure to achieve politics that unites the people accordingly."

He added, "Looking at the political ecosystem, this result is undesirable," and said, "Even in Honam, the exit poll results showed a crushing defeat where not only independents but also the Minsaeng Party could not make a mark. If this continues, it means going back to the past."

Meanwhile, according to the KBS exit poll prediction report released after voting closed at 6 p.m. on the day, the Democratic Party and its proportional representation party, the Deobureo Citizen Party, are expected to secure 155 to 178 seats. The United Future Party and its proportional representation party, the Future Korea Party, are projected to secure 107 to 130 seats.