Low Approval Ratings but Reluctant to Nominate Ahn... People Power Party Candidate's Dilemma

Ruling Party Begins Election Campaign... Opposition in Disarray Over Unification Method
Kim Jong-in: "Can We Really Be Sure of Winning as Candidate No. 4, the People's Party?"
Kwon Eun-hee Advocates "Quick Unification"... Insistence on Candidate No. 2 May Hinder Expansion

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee, Boryeong Geum, and Juni Park] While the ruling party has already confirmed its Seoul mayoral candidate and is set to begin full-scale election campaigning, the opposition camp is still embroiled in disputes over the unification method, unable to escape internal strife. Although they share the goal of delivering a landslide victory by emphasizing a judgment against the current administration, their positions are firmly set that the protagonist must be a ‘candidate from their own party,’ making a grand consensus unlikely. For now, the People Power Party (PPP) is trying by all means to put forward its own candidate as the unified candidate, but Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is backed by high public approval ratings. The push and pull without concessions over the unification method could lead to a rupture, which in turn might allow the ruling party to gain an unintended advantage.

Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, told reporters on the 2nd, "We cannot win the Seoul mayoral election if the unification is with a third-zone candidate," adding, "Is it the candidate number 2 from the People Power Party or number 4 from the People’s Party? Can we be confident that number 4 will win? I have no such confidence." He continued, "When objective criteria are set, they must be followed, but one cannot propose convenient unification conditions according to their own preferences," and said, "The current approval ratings are honestly not the real approval ratings."

Emphasizing the power of the main opposition party, he belittled Ahn’s poll ratings, saying they would be difficult to maintain. The People Power Party plans to decide its final candidate on the 4th. There is a clear difference in the two parties’ positions on the unification method. They plan to present a unified candidate before the 18th?19th, but the People Power Party prefers to use the ‘opposition’s time’ over two weeks without rushing. Kim Geun-sik, head of the People Power Party’s Vision and Strategy Office, appeared on KBS Radio that day and said, "If we unify by simply choosing whoever has a few percentage points more now, it seems insufficient to utilize the beautiful two weeks of opposition time," adding, "We need to consider a unification process where citizens directly participate, and then a unification process where the People’s Party and People Power Party can harmoniously combine." He also said, "We need to consider a unification method that can form a scrum from the Taegeukgi (flag) faction to the moderate middle ground," emphasizing, "We must connect all opposition supporters without leaving a single one behind."

On the other hand, the People’s Party favors concluding the unification as soon as possible. Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, appeared on YTN Radio’s ‘Hwang Bo-seon’s Starting Morning’ and responded "Yes" when asked if she preferred to speed up the unification process. She also drew a clear line again regarding joining or merging with the People Power Party, which insists on candidate number 2. Kwon said, "The argument that we must insist on or proceed with candidate number 2 is already past the point of timing controversy." There is also analysis that insisting on candidate number 2 reduces expandability.