Two Kingmakers Divided on the 'Yoon Seok-yeol Grand Ambition Theory': "Meaningful" vs. "What Does a Prosecutor General Have to Do?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the Future United Party, regarded as the opposition's 'kingmaker,' and former lawmaker Kim Moo-sung showed contrasting reactions to the 'Yoon Seok-yeol presidential hopeful theory.'

On the 1st, after a seminar of the forum 'Towards a Better World' which he leads, former lawmaker Kim told reporters, "It is a phenomenon where the people want a leader who has conviction and will in their work and moves forward without bending," explaining why Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol is being mentioned as a presidential candidate.

According to Realmeter on the 30th of last month, in a preference survey for the next presidential candidate conducted during the week of June 22?26, Prosecutor General Yoon received 10.1%, following Democratic Party member Lee Nak-yeon (30.8%) and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (15.6%).

The Realmeter survey was conducted on behalf of OhmyNews, targeting 2,537 adult men and women nationwide. The sampling error is ±1.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed information, refer to the Realmeter or the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission websites.

Regarding this, former lawmaker Kim said, "It is a quite meaningful result," and added, "The more the ruling party attacks Prosecutor General Yoon, the bigger he will become."

However, he said, "Since Prosecutor General Yoon is currently a public official, we are carefully observing the situation and looking at the possibilities," and "It is not the stage to tell him to step forward yet."

On the other hand, Chairman Kim, marking one month since his inauguration, dismissed the 'Yoon Seok-yeol presidential hopeful theory' in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on the same day, saying, "What kind of presidential candidate is a prosecutor general? It doesn't really mean much who is ahead in the polls right now."

Chairman Kim said, "I know there are people wriggling even outside the party," and "Before coming to the party, I was also attentively observing who might be the next presidential candidate and gave advice to those who had such potential."