Former prosecutor general likely to join main opposition party

Jun 16, 2021, 08:37 am

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Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl applauds during an opening ceremony of the Namsan Yejang Park in Seoul on June 9, 2021./ Photographed by Song Ui-joo (songuijoo@)

AsiaToday reporter Jo Jae-hak

As main opposition People Power Party (PPP) under new leader Lee Jun-seok is gearing up for the next presidential election coming up next year, attention is focused on the movements of opposition presidential candidates. Many observers say former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who has not officially announced his presidential bid, is looking to enter the PPP. On the other hand, a clash is expected between the main opposition PPP and the minor opposition People’s Party in the course of merging the parties as they hold different views on stakes.

“Former Prosecutor General Yoon is aware of the People Power Party’s schedule and is looking at public opinion before making a decision,” Yoon’s spokesperson Lee Dong-hoon said Tuesday in a radio interview on Tuesday. “Yoon’s timeline and Chairman Lee’s timeline will not contradict each other,” the spokesperson said.

Chairman Lee has been stressing the so-called “Bus departing in August without exceptions”, urging any potential contenders for the party’s nomination to join by August to pick its presidential candidate in November. The latest remarks of Yoon’s spokesperson indicate that Yoon, who has been in war of nerves with Chairman Lee, has changed his stance.

In particular, Yoon’s spokesperson stressed that the ‘Lee Jun-seok phenomenon’ and the ‘Yoon Seok-youl phenomenon’ are on the same line. “The Lee Joon-seok phenomenon reflects the public’s disgust over the changelessness and incompetence of mainstream politics. In that respect, the Yoon Seok-youl phenomenon are not different,” he said.

Expectations for the combination of Chairman Lee and presidential candidate Yoon are growing inside and outside the opposition bloc. Since Chairman Lee took office, the approval rating of the PPP as well as former Prosecutor General Yoon as the next presidential candidate is rising.

As the ‘Lee Jun-seok and Yoon Seok-youl’ combination power has been confirmed, Yoon is likely to enter the main opposition party. Moreover, analysts say that Lee’s election, who said that former Park Geun-hye deserved impeachment, relieved the burden of Yoon, who led the investigation at the time. Besides, the fact that Yoon is overwhelmingly supported by the PPP supporters is another reason why many believe Yoon would join the party.

On the other hand, the tug-of-war between the PPP and the People’s Party seems to be in full swing. The People’s Party seems dissatisfied over Chairman Lee’s ‘on-time departure’ rule.

“From a common-sense standpoint, the merge should take place before the primary,” said Lee Tae-kyu, chair of the Policy Planning Committee of the People’s Party. “The August primary is a schedule for the People Power Party. It remains to be seen whether the schedule is agreed by everyone, including the People’s Party and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. It is important to understand mutual situations,” he said. “There are not necessarily only two bus routes for regime change.”

#Yoon Seok-youl #Lee Jun-seok #People Power Party #Peoples Party