"We Are Not Executing Our Strategy Well"... Bitter Criticism Toward the Opposition Party
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, recently expressed his frustration over the fierce competition between Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl in recent presidential candidate approval rating polls.
On the 17th, during an appearance on SBS Radio's 'Kim Taehyun's Political Show,' Lee said, "Normally, the accuracy of opinion polls significantly decreases during the year-end and New Year period," adding, "Last week, we did not have many favorable factors. Although the Democratic Party did not have many favorable factors either, the evaluation depends on who is more affected by unfavorable factors."
He continued, "Our side's unfavorable factors were reflected earlier by a day or two, but the family issues of candidate Lee Jae-myung are also quite serious matters," he emphasized.
However, Lee soon shared his personal feelings. He said, "As a political commentator, that's one thing, but as the party leader, it's maddening."
Earlier, in a 'presidential candidate approval rating' survey conducted by the polling agency 'Korea Gallup' from the 14th to the 16th among 1,000 men and women nationwide aged 18 and over, candidate Lee was recorded at 36%, and candidate Yoon at 35%. Following them were Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party presidential candidate (5%), and Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party presidential candidate (5%). 'Undecided' accounted for 16%.
The survey was conducted via telephone interviewer interviews, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and a response rate of 13%.
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate (right)
Although it is a 'neck-and-neck' situation within the margin of error, this is the first time in 56 days since October 22 that candidate Lee has led candidate Yoon in this poll.
Regarding this, Lee said, "It's not that we have no strategy, but we have not been able to execute the strategy well yet," adding, "It is true that we judged we had an advantage with an initial gap of about 15 percentage points due to the excitement from the primaries and the party convention, but it is important to deflate that bubble," continuing his harsh criticism toward the People Power Party.
He also criticized the party’s recruitment for the election campaign committee. He said, "Recent recruitments are good for increasing numbers but are not people who can show the public a new vision," adding, "What that exactly means is that these people are more about gathering existing figures rather than creating a new world, and they deserve criticism for trying to engineer a breakthrough in a divided National Assembly."
Regarding candidate Yoon, he emphasized the importance of a 'prompt apology.' Lee said, "Looking back now, there were some very insulting claims, so it was difficult to respond rationally," but added, "I think it is necessary to humbly verify the allegations raised now and make a statement on the incident while it is not too late."
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