Tag: politics

Here is the latest on the ROK presidential election:

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People’s Party said Sunday he is dropping his offer to merge campaigns with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and will finish the presidential race on his own.

The decision is expected to add to uncertainties in the already tight race in which Yoon and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) have been running neck and neck at around 40 percent support each, with Ahn at around 10 percent support.

Ahn’s announcement came a week after he proposed the merger with Yoon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), saying the two sides should field a single candidate to ensure a victory over Lee in the March 9 election.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I think Yoon probably decided he didn’t need Ahn because he is currently ahead by 5% points over Lee Jae-myung in recent polling.

It looks like Yoon Suk-yeol’s comments about investigating the Moon Jae-in administration if elected had the desired effect of giving him a slight bounce in the polls:

A latest poll showed that the gap between the two leading presidential candidates Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung has shrunk since Yoon’s remarks that he will go after corruption allegations of the Moon Jae-in administration if he wins the March 9 election.    
   
According to the survey released by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) on Monday, Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) scored 43.5 percent and Lee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) scored 40.4 percent. Compared to the previous week, Lee’s rating went up by 2 percentage points, while Yoon’s dropped by 1.1 percentage points, narrowing the two candidates’ gap from 6.2 percentage points last week to 3.1 percentage points this week.  
   
The latest poll was conducted on Friday and Saturday, shortly after an emotional quarrel between Yoon and President Moon Jae-in. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

This would be quite the odd couple if they do decide to combine their campaigns:

Minor presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo officially proposed merging candidacies with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday to ensure an “overwhelming victory” against the governing party.

Ahn of the centrist People’s Party also proposed selecting a unified candidate between the two through opinion polls, just like he unified candidacies with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Yoon’s People Power Party ahead of last year’s local by-elections.

“Winning is important, but in order to overcome the current crisis and carry out future-oriented reform tasks, there should be an overwhelming victory amid people’s trust. This can’t be done by any single person alone,” Ahn said during a press conference held via YouTube.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering the Blue House’s very strong response to Yoon’s comments I think it is an indication they are worried about being investigated if he does win the Presidency:

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday demanded an apology from main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol for remarks that he will launch a probe into alleged corruption of the current administration if he is elected. 

Moon expressed “strong resentment” over Yoon’s remarks and criticized the candidate for attacking the current administration with “groundless” allegations, according to Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication.

It was rare for Moon to directly respond to remarks by Yoon. To maintain political neutrality ahead of the March vote, the presidential office has kept a low profile over allegations raised by Yoon or other presidential candidates. 

Yoon made the remark in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo daily published Wednesday, saying he will launch an investigation into “deep-rooted evils” of the Moon Jae-in administration if he wins the March 9 presidential election.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Yoon is clearly trying to rally the conservative base before the election that is upset that the Moon administration jailed the two former conservative Presidents. For the good of the country though Yoon if elected needs to stop the political prosecution of former Presidents.

The fact that Yoon Suk-yeol is joining in to namedrop for President Roh Moo-hyun could be interpreted that he is getting desperate because I can’t image Roh supporters voting for a conservative candidate:

Ahn also stressed his connection with Roh, saying the former president’s first legislative constituency was in Busan, Ahn’s hometown, and he was one of eight civilians invited to Roh’s inauguration ceremony. 

His remarks came after his main rivals Lee Jae-myung of the DPK and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) namedropped the late president. 

On Sunday, Lee visited Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, where Roh is buried. While paying tribute to the former president, the former Gyeonggi Province governor got emotional at one point. 

“To establish the world where human beings live is a dream of Roh Moo-hyun, (President Moon Jae-in) and Lee Jae-myung,” he said during the visit. 

Lee also wrote in a guestbook that he will build a world without foul play or privilege.

On Saturday, Yoon paid a visit to a naval base on Jeju Island, a project launched by Roh that faced a strong backlash from residents and activists as well as his supporters, who feared that the base could set off a regional arms race and damage the island’s environment. The construction of the Jeju base was completed in 2016.

Praising Roh’s decision to build the naval base to bolster self-reliance in national defense, Yoon also got emotional, saying that he has Roh’s agony and determination engraved in his heart. Yoon paused for a moment to compose himself. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads likely remember that President Roh was elected on a platform that included anti-Americanism, often clashed with the former Bush administration, and was pro-North Korea. Considering all the money Roh allowed to be funneled into North Korea it is arguable that Roh could be considered the father of the North Korean nuclear bomb.

Roh often claimed how he wasn’t corrupt, but after his presidency he committed suicide to protect corrupt family members. Former President Lee Myung-bak is still jailed because he was the one that launched the investigation into Roh’s family that uncovered the corruption that led to his suicide. The Korean left never forgot and once President Moon was elected, investigations were opened to go after Lee and imprison him.

How Yoon Suk-yeol thinks he will get votes from the group of people that still support Roh is beyond me.

I don’t think anyone would be surprised that China would be upset to see Yoon Suk-yeol win the Korean Presidency:

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul has denied the allegation that China tried to meddle in Korea’s upcoming presidential election.

In a statement released to Korean journalists on Monday, the embassy expressed regret that a JoongAng Ilbo newspaper column published on the same day accused China of trying to intervene in the presidential election based on several Chinese officials’ remarks. 

“China, like many other countries in the world, is watching the South Korean presidential election, but it has never intervened in it and will never do it,” the press release reads. “China’s announcing of its position and argument on China-related issues is aimed at protecting its interests and the overall development of Sino-Korea relations, and has nothing to do with the so-called interference in the Korean presidential election.”

The Chinese Embassy’s reaction came as the JoonAng Ilbo published a column titled, “China’s attempt to ‘intervene’ in Korea’s presidential election regretful.” In the article written by its chief Beijing correspondent, the journalist cited former Chinese Ambassador to Korea Qiu Guohong’s “inappropriate” comments about Korea during an online international academic conference held Jan. 20.

“I hope presidential candidates of Korea would not mention any sensitive issues related to China,” Qiu was quoted as saying, adding he believes the bilateral relations between China and Korea should not be ruined by some politicians’ remarks.

The JoongAng Ilbo column presented Qiu’s remarks as being disrespectful to Korea, pointing out that the former ambassador was indirectly criticizing recent remarks made by Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of Korea’s main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP).

The article also mentioned several other Chinese scholars’ remarks about how some conservative politicians in Korea tried to China-bash as a campaign tactic.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but Yoon should use this as one of his campaign slogans that he is the candidate that China does not want to see elected.

Considering the ROK’s past history of authoritarians seizing power, I think the five year term has been working very effectively for South Korea:

 Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday argued for a shift to a four-year presidential term, renewable once, from the current single five-year term, saying he is willing to opt for a shorter term if elected.

“For responsible politics, (South Korea) needs a double, four-year term under which power is decentralized,” Lee of the Democratic Party said during an interview with cable channel MBN. 

“Five years is not a span (sufficient for a president) to plan, enact and execute policies and see the results,” the presidential candidate said. 

He said a constitutional amendment for that shift is needed now, and he is more than willing to accept a shorter four-year term if elected president.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out because if Yoon and Ahn merge their campaigns they have a better chance of defeating Lee for the presidency:

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) faces growing pressure to form a coalition with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party for the March 9 presidential election, as surveys show that an alliance offers a greater chance for the opposition bloc to beat ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. 

So far, the PPP has been downplaying the recent rise in Ahn’s support rate, saying it is a “temporary phenomenon” stemming from infighting in the main opposition party between its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and party Chairman Lee Jun-seok throughout last month. However, anticipation is growing that the main opposition party may make a decision in the coming weeks in order to grab the public’s attention before the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 Lunar New Year holidays. 

According to a Realmeter survey released Monday, the DPK’s Lee was leading the pack with a 40.1 percent support rate, followed by the PPP’s Yoon with 34.1 percent and Ahn with 11.1 percent. It was the first time that Ahn logged a double-digit number in the weekly survey conducted by the poll agency at the request of OhmyNews. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but what is even more interesting about the polling is that not only is a combined opposition ticket outpoll Lee Jae-myung, but if Ahn Cheol-soo is the lead the ticket polls even better than if Yoon was the lead candidate.