President Yoon's "Will Definitely Attend the Party Convention" Remark Raises Concerns Over Growing "Yoonism" Influence
Park Geun-hye Attended the Convention but Non-Park Faction Elected Representative
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] "The president's interference in party affairs is now being done openly."
This is part of a post former lawmaker Lee Eon-ju uploaded on her Facebook as she declared she would not run in the March 8 People Power Party (PPP) Supreme Council member election. Lee said, "Even if I became a Supreme Council member, if I only played the role of a puppet, I would be neglecting my responsibility to the people and party members, so I ultimately decided not to run."
The controversy over President Yoon Seok-yeol's 'interference in party affairs' has reignited. Following the revision of the party convention rules to '100% party member voting' for the first time in 18 years and the withdrawal of former lawmaker Na Kyung-won from the party convention, criticisms have emerged that 'Yoon's will (Yunsim, 尹心)' was reflected in the PPP convention process. President Yoon's remarks about attending the convention have added fuel to the controversy.
According to the PPP on the 31st, President Yoon mentioned attending the March 8 convention during a lunch meeting with party leadership on the 26th. At the time, Yang Geum-hee, the PPP chief spokesperson, told reporters after the lunch, "President Yoon promised that he would definitely attend the convention, which is a great festival where party members gather."
Presidential attendance at party conventions is not unfamiliar in conservative administrations. Former President Lee Myung-bak attended the 2008 convention of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the PPP, and former President Park Geun-hye appeared at the Saenuri Party conventions in 2014 and 2016. The party convention, where tens of thousands of party members attend to elect party leadership, allows the president to confirm their support base within the party and use it as momentum for national governance. For this reason, some argue that President Yoon's attendance cannot be seen as interference in party affairs. A PPP official said, "Since the convention is usually attended by enthusiastic party members, a president going through a difficult time naturally gains energy from them," adding, "It's like singers confirming their existence by receiving cheers from fans at a large concert."
President Park Geun-hye is responding to the cheers of party members just before delivering a congratulatory speech at the Saenuri Party's 4th National Convention held on the 9th at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul for the selection of party representatives and Supreme Council members. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
However, in President Yoon's case, publicly declaring his intention to attend more than a month before the convention could be perceived as favoring a particular candidate. Jo Won-jin, leader of the Our Republican Party, said on YTN radio the day before, "Depending on whether the president attends the convention, votes fluctuate significantly."
The PPP convention has been mired in 'Yunsim controversy' since the preparation stage. Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, once a leading candidate for party leadership, faced criticism inside and outside the party that Yunsim was at play after she was dismissed following conflicts with the presidential office over low birthrate policies. Na, who was considering running for party leader, submitted her resignation as vice-chair of the Low Birthrate Committee, but the presidential office took the strong step of dismissal. During this process, 50 first-term lawmakers circulated a joint letter demanding "Na Kyung-won apologize to the president." In a radio interview, PPP senior advisor Lee Jae-oh criticized this, saying, "(First-term lawmakers) want to look good to the president, but that doesn't work. It's disposable," and added, "Attacking and lynching a specific person is not something even gangsters would do."
Before this convention, the voting method was changed from the previous '70% party members, 30% public opinion poll' to '100% party members,' widely seen as targeting former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, who has opposed President Yoon. Although this rule change is the first in 18 years, it was decided by the Emergency Committee without any internal party discussion, disadvantaging Yoo, who had high public opinion poll support.
Because of this, some inside and outside the party analyze that the president's attendance at the convention could backfire. In past conventions attended by presidents, the president's intentions were not always fully reflected. During former President Park Geun-hye's term, she attended two conventions: in the first, the 'non-Park faction' candidate Kim Moo-sung defeated the 'pro-Park faction' candidate Seo Cheong-won; in the 2016 convention, the 'pro-Park faction' candidate Lee Jung-hyun was elected. Woo Sang-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said on a YouTube channel the day before, "If candidate Ahn Cheol-soo becomes party leader, politically it means a lame duck," adding, "Because he openly supported candidate Kim Ki-hyun, Ahn's election confirms that even with the president's intervention, it won't work."
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