Kim TaeSeop Shares Outlook on June 3 Presidential Election
"People Power Party Must Clarify Stance on Yoon's Impeachment"
"Lee JaeMyung Is Settling Scores With Pro-Moon Faction"
Former National Assembly member TaeSeop Kim commented on the upcoming June 3 presidential election, stating, "The People Power Party should start preparing to act as the opposition party from now on." In an interview on SBS Radio's "Kim Taehyun's Political Show" on April 22, Kim said, "If the Democratic Party wins this presidential election, the People Power Party will become the opposition. Whenever the Democratic Party faces difficulties in the early stages, whether in the economy or diplomacy, they will likely raise the issue of insurrection, and at that time, the People Power Party will face challenges."
Kim further explained, "In fact, if the Democratic Party comes to power, they will also have a large number of seats in the National Assembly, so the opposition must fulfill its role of keeping them in check. To do this, during the presidential election process, they need to clearly state their positions on issues such as the 12·3 Martial Law and the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. However, even now, they are unable to do so," adding, "I think this is an area where the People Power Party is lacking."
He also shared his views on the People Power Party's presidential primary. Regarding former Daegu Mayor JunPyo Hong, who has drawn attention for remarks such as the "height-increasing shoes" comment directed at former People Power Party leader DongHoon Han, Kim said, "He always manages to secure the votes he can bring in. His goal is to be number one among conservatives, and that's why he instinctively acts this way. Even now, if he keeps asking 'B-grade questions,' the primary could become unpredictable due to infighting. This is not the time for the People Power Party to be like this, but he creates his own atmosphere."
Regarding the calls from some quarters for DeokSoo Han to run for president, Kim said, "That will never happen," and added, "People around him may have expectations, but the moment he enters the race and faces reality, it will simply fall apart." He continued, "Looking at the current People Power Party candidates, I doubt they will win this presidential election, but they are very good at keeping each other in check, so they will never be easily absorbed."
On the other hand, regarding former Democratic Party leader JaeMyung Lee's dominant performance in the Democratic Party's presidential primary, winning nearly 90% of the votes, Kim analyzed, "From Lee's perspective, he is paying back what he suffered in the past." He said, "During the last presidential primary, the pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) faction retaliated against rivals HeeJung Ahn and JaeMyung Lee. That was when the famous 'seasoning' remark by candidate Moon Jae-in was made," adding, "At that time, lawmakers who joined the Ahn HeeJung or Lee JaeMyung camps were harassed by supporters, and former President Moon also made comments condoning this."
During the Democratic Party's 2017 presidential primary, fervent supporters of candidate Moon Jae-in sent "18-won" donations, bombarded rival candidates with text messages, and posted negative comments. Former President Moon described these actions as "seasoning that makes the competition interesting," which sparked controversy.
Kim commented, "So when people say to Lee, 'Isn't 90% too much?' he could respond, 'But I went through the same thing.' However, Lee has issues of trust and a somewhat intimidating image. I think he needs to address those."
Kim was previously elected to the National Assembly as a Democratic Party candidate, but after refusing to compromise his principles on issues such as the "Cho Kuk incident," prosecution reform, and the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, he clashed with the pro-Moon faction, which was the majority within the party, and eventually left. Later, when former People Power Party emergency committee chairman JongIn Kim served as chief campaign manager for Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential campaign, Kim served as the head of campaign strategy and planning.
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