People Power Party Primary, Fierce Competition for 4th Place... Who Will Compete for the Main Primary Spot?

Yoo Seung-min, Won Hee-ryong, Ha Tae-gyeong, Hwang Kyo-ahn, and Others
Fierce Competition Before October 8 Cutoff

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As the second round of the People Power Party's presidential primary begins, competition to secure a spot within the top four in the second cut-off is expected to intensify. Currently, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo are competing for first and second place in various polls, making the intra-party competition for the remaining two spots fierce.

According to a poll released on the 20th by KBS, commissioned to Korea Research, when asked about the 'suitability of People Power Party candidates,' Lawmaker Hong received 30.2%, former Prosecutor General Yoon 21.8%, former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min 10.2%, and former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong 2.8%. Following them outside the top five were former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung (2.1%), People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung (1.1%), and former Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn (1.0%). (The survey was conducted via telephone interviews with 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide from the 16th to 18th, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.)

Earlier, in a poll released on the 16th by Money Today, commissioned to Gallup Korea, when asked about 'People Power Party presidential candidate preference,' former lawmaker Yoo ranked third with 13.1%, and former Governor Won ranked fourth with 2.7%. However, former Governor Won's support was not significantly different from former Chairman Choi in fifth place (2.5%) and lawmaker Ha in sixth place (2.0%). (The survey was conducted via wired and wireless telephone interviews with 1,007 adults aged 18 and over nationwide from the 13th to 14th, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.)

In previous polls, former lawmaker Yoo has remained in the 10% range, holding the third position, but the chances of candidates with less than 5% passing the second cut-off remain uncertain. Former lawmaker Yoo is also more than 10 percentage points behind the candidates maintaining the first and second positions in the polls, so he cannot be complacent.

For candidates, making it into the top four in the second cut-off is a very important issue, as it provides an opportunity to rebound until the final candidate is selected on November 5.

In fact, candidates within the party are fighting desperately to enter the ranking. Former Governor Won stated on Facebook on the 15th, "From now on, it begins," adding, "I will show the definite winning card for regime change, Won Hee-ryong's capability, in the full-scale debates." Former Chairman Choi also took a bold step on the 14th by 'dissolving the campaign,' saying, "To succeed in the presidential race, I intend to take a new path with new methods."

Yoo Seung-min, a presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party, is meeting with party leader Lee Jun-seok at the National Assembly on the 17th and presenting a doll called 'Yuchita,' a nickname given by supporters. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Former lawmaker Yoo has also actively used the nickname 'Yuchita' (meaning his support rate will rise rapidly like a cheetah), which has recently been popular among his supporters, to secure his base. Earlier, on the 15th, during an Instagram live broadcast and on the 17th in a meeting with People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, he even brought out a cheetah doll.

Regarding this, former People Power Party Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the morning of the 16th and said, "(The second cut-off narrowed down to four candidates) in my view, it will be Yoon Seok-youl, Hong Joon-pyo, and then Yoo Seung-min," but added, "I don't know who will be the fourth."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party will announce the results of the second cut-off on the 8th of next month, reflecting 70% public opinion polls and 30% party member votes. At that time, the number of candidates will be reduced from eight to four.