The Democratic Party Distributes Analysis Report on April 7 By-election Defeat
"The 'Cho Kuk Incident' as 'Hypocrisy of the Current Regime'," "Their Own League"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The Democratic Party of Korea conducted an internal analysis of the causes behind their crushing defeat in the April 7 by-elections and found that the 'Cho Kuk incident' and real estate issues were major factors. Additionally, the sexual harassment case involving the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, was identified as a reason for the defection of female voters in their 20s and 30s.
Recently, the Seoul branch of the Democratic Party delivered a 'Focus Group Interview (FGI) Results Report on Seoul Voters' to party lawmakers. The report, about 20 pages long, contains in-depth interviews with the 'retention group' who continued to support the ruling party since the April 15 general election last year, and the 'defection group' who withdrew their support.
The defection group pointed to the Cho Kuk, former Minister of Justice, incident as the cause of the by-election defeat. A woman in her 40s said, "I felt a sense of deprivation. I thought, 'So that's how the Cho couple raised their children. They have their own league.'" Other opinions also pointed to the 'Cho Kuk incident' as "the hypocrisy of the current administration" and "the starting point that led to the election defeat."
There were also voices expressing a sense of loss regarding the LH scandal and real estate issues. Those who withdrew support from the Democratic Party lamented, "There is no hope for owning a home, and prices rise by billions every day," and "No matter how much I save in my lifetime, I can't buy a house like that," expressing frustration.
Furthermore, female voters in their 20s and 30s cited the sexual harassment case involving the late Park Won-soon as a factor in the defeat. During the April 7 by-elections, Democratic Party lawmakers Nam In-soon, Jin Sun-mi, and Ko Min-jung referred to the victim of Park’s sexual harassment as a 'complainant,' sparking controversy. The issue escalated into secondary victimization debates, leading to their eventual withdrawal from the election campaign.
On the other hand, the group that maintained their support sought to attribute the defeat to external factors such as 'reactionary forces' and 'attacks by conservative media.'
A female supporter in her 40s also expressed disappointment, saying regarding Cho Kuk and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, "I was left exhausted by them, and I was disappointed in a president who was only kind."
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