'200 Seats', '180 Seats Key'... Opposition Worried Whether Optimism Will Become a Setback in the General Election

Democratic Party Leadership Issues Caution Against Optimism
"If Seen as Arrogance, the People Will Punish"

Ahead of the general election, predictions within the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are emerging that they will secure a majority of the seats. Although the party leadership has warned against complacency following their victory in the October by-election for the Seoul Gangseo District Mayor, there are concerns that the optimism expressed by some could become a negative factor in the general election.

Lee Hae-chan, Senior Advisor to the DPK, said at a DPK Sejong City Party event on the 6th, regarding the general election results, "If we are confident, it does not seem likely that we will lose the first place," adding, "The key is whether we achieve an outright majority or secure around 180 seats as last time."

Senior Advisor Lee calculated, "If we win 30 seats in Honam and just 7 in Bu-Ul-Gyeong (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam), that’s 37 seats. Even if we lose 5 seats in Chungcheong and Gangwon, that leaves 17 seats, totaling 84 seats. Last time, we won 103 seats in the metropolitan area; if we win only 50 to 60 of those, that would be 140 seats, and winning 70 would bring us to 154 seats."

Earlier within the party, remarks such as "If we sweep the metropolitan area, there’s no law that says we can’t get 200 seats" (Jeong Dong-young, Senior Advisor) and "Our party’s biggest goal is to reduce the People Power Party to under 100 seats" (Lee Tan-hee, lawmaker) were also made.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The party leadership has issued a warning against the optimistic views that surfaced after the Gangseo District Mayor by-election landslide victory. On the 6th of last month, party leader Lee Jae-myung said at the launch of the party’s general election planning team, "We will always do our best with a humble heart that fears the sovereign people and with caution against any arrogance that may exist within us." On the same day, Cho Jung-sik, Secretary-General and head of the election planning team, said, "Division and arrogance are the enemies the Democratic Party must most guard against," adding, "We will approach next year’s general election with a more desperate and humble attitude."

In the political sphere, such optimism is also seen as unhelpful to the DPK. Former Justice Party lawmaker Park Won-seok appeared on SBS Radio’s 'Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show' on the 8th and said, "Objectively, it’s not wrong, but I hope former leader Lee stops acting as a shadow leader," criticizing, "Making such remarks is not very desirable for the Democratic Party."

Kim Geun-sik, former Director of Vision and Strategy for the People Power Party, also warned on SBS Radio that day, "Senior Advisor Lee’s excessive confidence can come across as arrogance, and the public will respond harshly."