People Power Party Holds General Election Evaluation Forum Hosted by Yeouido Institute
Seo Ji-young "Standards Change Every Nomination... Need to Establish Lawmaker Evaluation System"
Professor Park Myung-ho "A Party Abandoning the Capital Region Is Not Unusual to Be Called 'Yeongnam Jaminryeon'"
On the 25th, a discussion titled "Tasks Left by the 22nd General Election" hosted by the Yeouido Research Institute was held at the People Power Party Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
First-term lawmakers of the People Power Party criticized the party's system nomination and election campaign during the party's first reflection discussion after the general election defeat. An external participant also analyzed that the party "could fall into becoming a Yeongnam conservative party."
Kim Jaeseop, a People Power Party lawmaker-elect from Dobong-gap, Seoul, said at the discussion held at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 25th, "When asked how I was elected in Gangbuk, I only gave very superficial answers," adding, "I did the exact opposite of what the party did." He further stated, "We never even mentioned the 'Lee-Jo judgment' (referring to Lee Jae-myung and Cho Kuk), and I never hung a single banner sent down from the party."
He said, "The biggest difference between when I lost in the 21st general election and now as a lawmaker-elect is that when we lost with just over 100 seats, I remember crying as if the party was collapsing," and added, "This time, the result is actually almost the same as last time, but personally, I feel it is very complacent."
Seo Ji-young, a People Power Party lawmaker-elect from Dongnae District, Busan, criticized the party's 'system nomination' emphasized during the election period. She said, "It is necessary to review how persuasive and good the famous system nomination was to the public," adding, "The criteria change every time nominations are made, and strange and new ideas keep pouring out."
Seo emphasized, "In future elections, it is necessary to establish a predictable system," and added, "To do this, a 'sitting lawmaker evaluation system' must be created." She continued, "There have been several internal discussions, but since lawmakers-elect and sitting lawmakers have secretly rejected this, there is no sitting lawmaker evaluation system," and said, "There will be a new floor leader election, and candidates should clearly declare that they will introduce a sitting lawmaker evaluation system instead of evasively avoiding it to win, then there is a future."
Park Myungho, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Dongguk University and the chair of the discussion, said, "In terms of generations, it is limited to the elderly, and we have entered an era where conservative values have become a minority," adding, "There is a problem being raised that the party is shrinking conservatism and becoming a party that needs generational change because it does not receive support from the 20s and 30s generations." He continued, "It is not surprising to hear the party called a party that has given up on the metropolitan area or the Yeongnam branch of the United Liberal Democrats," and said, "Is there a possibility as a metropolitan area party including Chungcheong? If not, it can only fall into a Yeongnam conservative party, and living that way is also one option."
He further analyzed, "Including the relationship with the presidential office, in terms of securing the party's self-sustainability and sustainability, hasn't the party become one detached from citizens and obviously unreasonable to anyone? It seems to have become a party that wins by chance like Superman and has become insensitive to the shift in conservative values."
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