Lee Jun-seok "Expect Yoon's Vote Share to Exceed 30% in Honam and 51.6% Nationwide"

"Unification Backlash? No Such Movement Detected"
"Park Geun-hye Approval Rating 51.6%... Hope It Surpasses This Time"

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok is appealing for support for candidate Yoon Seok-yeol at Seogwipo Oil Market on the afternoon of the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Woo-seok] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, predicted on the 7th that presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol could secure 30% of the votes in the Honam region and expressed his desire to achieve a support rate surpassing the 51.6% nationwide approval that former President Park Geun-hye received in the 18th presidential election in 2012.

On the same day, Lee appeared on Channel A's 'News A' and said, "We have won in over 95% of the polls released before the election polling blackout period," adding, "This trend continues, and as the unified opposition candidate, our candidate stands tall, effectively absorbing most of the votes from those hoping for a regime change."

Regarding the high early voting rate, he stated, "We believe our high turnout is due to many voters resonating with the points of change that candidate Yoon Seok-yeol advocates. When turnout is low, the ruling party's organizational strength built over the past five years can come into play," and added, "I see the public's desire to participate in voting, surpassing organizational power, as the key to winning the election."

On the ruling party's claim of a backlash from unification, he said, "It seems they are expressing what they wish for in a superstitious sense. I find it strange because their interpretation is very different from the data I am seeing," and firmly stated, "There is no movement that can be called a backlash at all."

Regarding the direction of public sentiment in the Honam region, which recorded the highest early voting rate, he predicted, "Based on various indicators, I believe 30% (of the vote) is possible. Looking at the published ARS polls, many show around the mid-20% range," adding, "If even one of the three local governments?Gwangju, Jeonnam, or Jeonbuk?exceeds 30%, it would be a major upheaval."

On the second day of early voting for the 20th presidential election, on the 5th, at a polling station in Seoul, ballots marked for a specific candidate were distributed, leading to a temporary suspension of voting due to protests from voters. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the poor management of early voting for confirmed COVID-19 patients on the 5th, he criticized, "The Central Election Commission's planning failure is conspicuous. We had recognized a month ago that the number of confirmed cases would approach 200,000 to 300,000, so various simulations should have been conducted to ensure smooth progress, but that was not done," and added, "Another point of criticism is the Election Commission's attitude toward citizens who later pointed out these issues. They claimed to have followed some manual, and describing someone as causing a disturbance gave the impression that the Election Commission was overly authoritarian."

Regarding the Democratic Party's offensive over the newly released 'Kim Man-bae recording' on the 6th, he responded, "It's perfectly like Season 2 of the ecological soup during the Seoul mayoral by-election," and said, "Looking at the so-called Kim Man-bae recording, there is ultimately nothing in the content."

Lee said, "The number I saw when I helped President Park Geun-hye's election 10 years ago was 51.6%," and added, "That was a very encouraging figure at the time, but I hope we receive votes exceeding that number so that even while facing 180 seats, we can achieve an election result with governing momentum."