Guk-him Proposes In Yo-han, Min-ju Suggests Kim Du-gwan for Tough Districts
Rep. Ha Tae-gyeong: "Decision Must Be Made Within the Year"
Inyohan, the Innovation Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, proposed the 'senior members running in difficult constituencies' theory, but it seems it is not leading to movements among senior members of both ruling and opposition parties.
At the beginning of the discussion, it was expected that there would be waves of non-candidacy or running in difficult constituencies in the general election within the political circles of both parties. When Kim Gi-hyeon, the leader of the People Power Party, reportedly told his close aides, "I have achieved all the great honors possible as a member of the National Assembly" (Yoo Sang-beom, People Power Party lawmaker, MBC Radio on the 7th), analyses suggested he would make a decision regarding his future political path. In fact, Park Byeong-seok, a six-term former National Assembly Speaker from the Democratic Party, announced on the 6th that he would not run in the general election.
However, there has been no news yet of other senior members from either party joining in. Within the ruling party, there has even been a public refusal to accept the Innovation Committee's call for sacrifice. On the 8th, Joo Ho-young, a five-term People Power Party lawmaker from Daegu, stated at the Daegu City Assembly report meeting, "If you started politics in Daegu, you finish in Daegu," adding, "I will not go to Seoul."
Yoon Chang-hyun, a member of the General Election Planning Committee and People Power Party lawmaker, described the current situation as "a state of observation." In an interview on the 9th with SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Yoon said, "Simply put, when a certain topic comes up, there are ways to respond immediately, but discussions usually unfold in three, four, or five stages," adding, "Since there is room to judge by synthesizing these discussions, a cautious mode is also possible."
Yoon added, "(The Innovation Committee's proposal) is about integration and sacrifice. Everyone agrees on integration, but the issue of sacrifice is actually related to the decision of each individual," and said, "It’s not that they are refusing to declare participation yet, nor do I think they will never do so in the future. Rather, they may take a relaxed approach to solving the issue by observing the next steps."
The deadline for decisions on 'non-candidacy or running in difficult constituencies' within the ruling party is expected to be by the end of this year. Ha Tae-kyung, who declared his candidacy in the metropolitan area before the Innovation Committee's recommendation, said on BBS Radio on the 8th, "No matter how late, it should be before the Innovation Committee's activities end. (Lawmakers) will decide within the year." The Innovation Committee led by Inyohan is scheduled to operate until December 24.
In the opposition party, lawmaker Kim Du-gwan ignited the theory of the leadership running in difficult constituencies. On the 9th, Kim appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kang Sisa' and said, "Just because someone was chosen in one region does not guarantee victory if they move to another region. In the case of the People Power Party, even if they are multi-term lawmakers in Yeongnam, they hesitate greatly to come to the metropolitan area," adding, "But since the current situation is difficult, the party leadership must be determined to run in difficult constituencies to persuade multi-term lawmakers."
Kim also said, "The theory of judging the president is receiving relatively more support than the theory of regime stability, and it is true that the president's approval rating is low, but we cannot be optimistic about victory based on this," evaluating that the Democratic Party is falling behind in the innovation competition.
However, there seems to be no movement from the leadership to join yet. Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member, criticized, "Even if they go, it’s because they are being pushed, which is undesirable" (KBS Radio on the 7th), and Go Min-jung, another Supreme Council member, said, "The leadership must approach the general election as if they are about to jump off a cliff," but also stated, "If there is a request, we will consider it sufficiently, but there has been no concrete order yet" (CBS Radio on the 8th).
Jeong Seong-ho, a four-term lawmaker and leader of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, dismissed the demand to run in difficult constituencies, saying, "Running in difficult constituencies is basically telling someone to quit politics," and "Going to an unfamiliar place to die is not desirable."
On the same day, Jeong appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and predicted that the senior members of both parties running in difficult constituencies would be difficult to materialize. Jeong said, "Inyohan, the Innovation Committee Chairman, may say such things in communication with Yongsan, but practically, the results will not be made that way," emphasizing, "The atmosphere within the ruling party that I know is completely different from the facts. Rather, it is more necessary to conduct fair nominations so that natural turnover occurs."
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