Party Leader Survey: 1st Han Dong-hoon, 2nd Yoo Seung-min
People Power Party Convention Considered for Late July to Mid-August
The number of members in the fan cafe of Han Dong-hoon, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, has increased about fourfold compared to before the general election, ahead of the party convention.
As of 10 a.m. on the 26th, the number of subscribers to Han's Naver fan club cafe 'WithHooni' was confirmed to be 72,495. Considering that the number of members in the fan cafe was around 18,000 before the April 10 general election, it has increased about four times.
Former Emergency Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon appealing for support from citizens during the 22nd general election. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Among them, about 60% of the ruling party's support base prefers Han as the next party leader and presidential candidate, according to consecutive opinion polls.
According to the results of the second opinion poll conducted by Innertech Systems commissioned by the conservative YouTube channel 'Resistance TV' (survey conducted on the 22nd-23rd, announced on the 24th; nationwide 1,004 adult men and women; margin of error ±3.1 percentage points at 95% confidence level; response rate 1.6%), in a survey on the 'suitability for People Power Party leader' among seven candidates (Han Dong-hoon, Ahn Cheol-soo, Na Kyung-won, Won Hee-ryong, Yoo Seung-min, Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Tae-ho), 29.3% of all respondents chose former emergency committee chairman Han Dong-hoon, and 27.3% chose former four-term lawmaker Yoo Seung-min.
The survey was conducted using 100% wireless RDD ARS method, and detailed information can be found on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.
Among respondents with positive evaluations of the government, 58.9% chose Han Dong-hoon and 11.1% chose Won Hee-ryong as the next presidential candidates. For the next People Power Party leader, 59.9% chose Han Dong-hoon, about 10.1% chose Won Hee-ryong, and about 6.6% chose Na Kyung-won. Although Han has not officially announced his position regarding the party convention, the expectation that he will run for party leader has become a fait accompli.
After resigning the day after the April 10 general election defeat and going into seclusion, Han recently started expressing his stance on various issues, beginning with the government's controversy over the 'ban on overseas direct purchases (direct buying)', which is interpreted as the start of his challenge for party leadership.
Analyzing Han's recent activities shows patterns such as sightings in public places, political activity on social networking services (SNS), and meetings with close aides. Within the party, it is highly likely that the party convention will be held between late July and mid-August, and considering that practical preparations take 30 to 40 days, it is expected that Han's activities will become clearer around next month, which is anticipated as the candidate registration period. If Han runs for party leader and wins, he will return to the leadership position just three to four months after resigning in responsibility for the April 10 general election defeat.
Lee Seung-hwan, the party committee chairman of Seoul Jungnang-eul, said on the evening of the 22nd on YTN Radio's 'Shin Yul's News Face-off', "It seems that he is going through all the steps to run as a candidate for party leader at the party convention," adding, "Han confirmed his recognition and popularity through sightings politics, then started SNS politics with the (overseas) direct purchase issue. The next step will be meeting politics."
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