Declining Attention Compared to the Past, Accumulated Dissatisfaction Expressed as Approval Ratings Stagnate
Intra-Party Conflicts Highlighted Ahead of Election... Kim Jong-in Faces Test of Resolution
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Within the People Power Party, public criticism toward Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in is noticeably increasing. In particular, dissatisfaction that had been building up among current and former senior lawmakers seems to be erupting all at once. As the by-elections approach next year, internal party conflicts are surfacing, leading to analyses that Chairman Kim's leadership is being shaken.
Until now, the only person who openly expressed dissatisfaction with Chairman Kim within the party was lawmaker Jang Je-won. Lawmaker Jang has voiced that Chairman Kim does not give opportunities to presidential candidates and effectively runs the party unilaterally. Recently, lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae has also steadily expressed dissatisfaction toward Chairman Kim. Starting with publicly criticizing the allocation of proportional representation seats for Honam as "an unexpected matter," he sharpened his remarks by saying, "Chairman Kim is operating the party in a way that shrinks and divides the camp's activities."
Especially regarding Chairman Kim's remark in Busan that "there is no suitable candidate for Busan mayor within the party," backlash from current and former senior lawmakers poured in one after another. Lawmaker Kwon Young-se criticized, "It was an inappropriate comment. What is there to gain by belittling oneself?" Former lawmaker Yoo Jae-jung, known to be preparing for the Busan mayoral by-election, openly expressed dissatisfaction by saying, "Kneel down, apologize, and go home."
The recent increase in voices openly expressing dissatisfaction is mainly attributed to the party's approval rating stagnating for a month, causing attention toward the party to wane. It is said that as the approval rating, which was on the rise at the beginning of the Emergency Response Committee's launch, started to stall, Chairman Kim's remarks stirred up issues, revealing previously hidden dissatisfaction.
The People Power Party's approval rating was neck-and-neck with the Democratic Party in early September amid the controversy over preferential military service for the son of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. However, it has since stagnated and declined despite negative issues such as the shooting of government officials in the West Sea and the controversy over Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's spouse traveling to the U.S. Some interpret that Chairman Kim chose public criticism to raise his presence ahead of the election.
Of course, there are still voices of support. A party official said regarding the public criticism toward Chairman Kim, "When we called someone like Kim Jong-in, we accepted change, didn't we?" and added, "We called him to impose something new and show a changed image, but the party's patience toward Chairman Kim is too shallow."
Highlighting internal party conflicts ahead of the election is bad news for the People Power Party. There are concerns that this is a d?j? vu of the last general election, where internal conflicts over candidate nominations were not resolved and resulted in a crushing defeat. Ultimately, how Chairman Kim will manage the dissatisfaction within the party toward himself has become a test of his leadership.
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