hankyoreh

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl talks to reporters during his visit to the Lee Hoe-yeong Memorial Hall in Seoul on June 9. (pool photo)

The countdowns will start ticking off in earnest this week for South Korea’s major political parties with the 20th presidential election coming up around 250 days from now.

Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chairman Choe Jae-hyeong was scheduled to announce his resignation as early as Monday, while former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is to declare the start of his political career on Tuesday.

The top two figures in the ruling Democratic Party’s race are also expected to throw their hats in the ring shortly. Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to declare his candidacy on Thursday, while former party leader Lee Nak-yon is coordinating a schedule for early July as well.

On the opposition side, controversy is heating up over questions about the political neutrality of the heads of state inspection agencies. On the ruling party side, a heated battle is being predicted amid a discussion by candidates about backing a single candidate to stop front-runner Lee Jae-myung from running away with the nomination.

Yoon, who leads in support on the opposition side, is set to officially announce the start of his political career Tuesday at the Yun Bong-gil Memorial Hall in Seoul’s Seocho District.

His plan is to hold off for the moment on announcing whether he plans to join the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) as he travels throughout South Korea on a tour to listen to perspectives from different walks of life.

Having experienced the limitations of a “statement-based” political approach while shunning public life in the wake of his resignation as Prosecutor General in March, he is now being put to the test as he comes into contact more directly with the public.

Yoon has been making thorough preparations, paying a preliminary exploratory visit to the Yun Bong-gil Memorial Hall on Sunday. With Yoon’s rise having been powered by discontent with the Moon Jae-in administration, the biggest variable in the opposition’s race will be whether he can maintain that momentum after officially beginning his campaign.

At the same time, he is also seen as potentially being vulnerable from an ethical standpoint amid talk of an “X-file” containing potentially damaging allegations. Choe Jae-hyung’s star has rapidly risen in the meantime, with the BAI chairman reportedly planning to announce his decision to resign sometime around Monday.

Then-Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chairman Choe Jae-hyeong talks to reporters on June 18 at the National Assembly in Seoul after testifying before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. (pool photo)

While he is expected not to declare his plan to run for the presidency right away, the fact that he is stepping down without completing his term — which is scheduled to go through January 2022 — has left little disagreement that he is doubling down on his commitment to a political career.

Both Yoon and Choe are senior officials appointed by the Moon administration — and both have gained political momentum as they have clashed publicly with the same administration that appointed them.

The fact that both have chosen to join politics and run for the presidency after years in public service has raised intense questions about their neutrality. Now the two of them face the task of battling past that controversy.

Meanwhile, they are expected to face intensifying efforts by potential PPP candidates to sink their chances.

Lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, who returned to the PPP on Thursday, is set to kick off his presidential bid with the publication of an “in-depth report” on Tuesday containing findings from in-depth interviews with around 8,000 members of the South Korean public.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, former leader of the United Future Party (the PPP’s previous incarnation), is also resuming his political career following Wednesday publication of his book “A First-Class Normal State.” Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong are scheduled to kick off their own campaigns around July 12, when prospective candidate registration begins for the PPP primary.

To date, six people have declared their plans to run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, with official candidacy announcements expected to come shortly from the two front-runners.

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung speaks during an interview with the Hankyoreh on June 21 at the provincial government office in Suwon. (Kang Chang-kwang/The Hankyoreh)

Lee Jae-myung is to announce his candidacy by video Thursday after registering as a prospective Democratic Party candidate on Wednesday. Lee Nak-yon’s announcement is also expected to come in early July.

While the Democratic Party’s presidential primary schedule was finalized ahead of the opposition’s, it is expected to encounter some rough waters. During the primary schedule coordination process, conflicts erupted between the “pro-Lee Jae-myung” camp and others who do not support the Gyeonggi governor; now, discussions are underway toward backing a single candidate to oppose him.

ormer Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon holds a press conference after a publishing event for his latest book on May 27. (pool photo)

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae reached an agreement Sunday to begin discussions toward winnowing down to a single candidate. They announced their position during a joint visit to the Korea Exchange on Monday.

An official with Lee Kwang-jae’s camp said, “We plan to work to finalize the single candidate decision before the preliminary primary if possible, and any like-minded people are free to take part in the discussions on joining forces.”

Yoon Tae-gon, political analysis chief for Moa Agenda Strategy, said, “The key to success with the public is going to be whether the Lee Jae-myung juggernaut runs away with it from the beginning, or whether the battle among candidates intensifies.”

In terms of the primary, he said, “The important thing is going to be less about the methods and more about what sorts of visions the different battle groups take shape around.”

According to this, the Democratic Party’s only chance of garnering public attention — even if the factional conflicts continue — is if they focus their competition on the different candidates’ policies and visions rather than simply forming a united front against Lee Jae-myung.

Despite growing support in and outside the political world for electing a non-Democratic Party administration, the uncertainties surrounding the PPP’s election situation remain great. Analysts predict the support ratings could be in for some major shakeups ahead of election day in March 2022.

“In presidential elections, voters strongly tend to prefer stable candidates. But while Yoon Seok-youl ranks first in opposition opinion polling, he still has a lot of uncertainty surrounding him,” Myongji University political science and diplomacy professor Shin Yul said.

“After declaring his political career, he needs to clearly tell the public whether he’s joining the [PPP] or not. If he fails to convey a sense of stability, that’s going to affect his support rulings,” Shin said.

The Democratic Party, for its part, faces the task of resolving its factional conflicts and identifying key issues.

Yong In University professor Choi Chang-yeol said, “Lee Jae-myung has strong support, but there’s still a lot of public opinion in favor of voting the Democratic Party out, so changing the public’s perceptions of the party will be key.”

“Rather than simply going negative during the primary, they need to identify and keenly debate new socioeconomic issues that South Korea has been facing,” he added.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

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