No Floor Leaders from Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam Swing Vote Regions in the Past 10 Years
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the People Power Party (PPP) who is running for floor leader, actively refuted the ‘no floor leader from Yeongnam’ theory. He argued that a floor leader from Yeongnam is necessary to use Yeongnam as a base camp and promote the party’s national expansion.
On the 20th, Kim appeared on KBS Radio’s “Choi Kyung-young’s Strongest Current Affairs” and said, “How can we run an election excluding Yeongnam? Yeongnam is our base camp of support, and since that base camp alone is not enough, we need to nationalize our party. From that perspective, we should continue to expand into Honam, Chungcheong, the metropolitan area, and Gangwon, shouldn’t we?”
Some media outlets and opposition insiders have pointed out that since Joo Ho-young, the current PPP floor leader and acting party leader, is from Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK), having the floor leader also come from Yeongnam could hinder the party’s centrist expansion strategy. In this PPP floor leader election, Kim, who is from Ulsan, is the only candidate representing Yeongnam.
Regarding these claims, Kim said, “Floor leader Joo is still in the leadership, but his term is effectively coming to an end. Now we have to elect the floor leader, party leader, and presidential candidate, but nothing has been decided yet,” adding, “If we start off by saying ‘exclude Yeongnam’ when nothing is decided, does that mean the party leader and presidential candidate will be selected from Yeongnam in the future?”
He continued, “How can we run an election excluding Yeongnam? Our main support base is largely in Yeongnam, so what crime has Yeongnam committed?” raising his voice. He said, “No matter how much we expand, we need a base camp. Are we going to wander around without a base camp? How do you expect to win an election excluding Yeongnam?”
Furthermore, Kim emphasized the necessity of a floor leader from the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (PK) region. He said, “Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam have been strategic key points in presidential elections,” adding, “They are swing vote regions that have shown tendencies to support Party A or Party B depending on various judgments at different times.” He continued, “Since 2011, there has not been a single floor leader from the PK region for about 10 years in the People Power Party. Since PK is a swing vote region, it is rather reasonable that the party leadership should include at least one face from there.”
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