People Power Party faces turmoil ahead of June election

With just 50 days remaining until the June 3 presidential election, a wave of withdrawals and infighting over primary rules is throwing both major parties into disarray. In the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min have shaken up the race by stepping back from contention. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea is facing a backlash from non-Lee Jae-myung factions over rules seen as favoring its former leader.

On April 12, Mayor Oh held a press conference and declared, “I will step aside and serve as a catalyst to normalize what has been abnormal,” adding that “no one in the PPP can be free from the responsibility for the failures of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.” His withdrawal is widely viewed as a response to internal calls to draft Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as a candidate, amid stagnant support for the party even after Yoon’s impeachment.

The next day, Yoo Seong-min announced he would not participate in the PPP’s primary, criticizing the party for “treating defeat as a foregone conclusion and clinging to vested interests.” Yoo’s decision follows his opposition to a rule limiting poll participation to PPP supporters and unaffiliated voters, designed to prevent strategic voting. However, Yoo’s camp left open the possibility of an independent run after leaving the party.

The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to weigh party member votes and public opinion polls equally, each accounting for 50 percent in determining its nominee. This has drawn strong objections from non-Lee candidates who had demanded a broader "citizen electoral college." Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon criticized the process as a “meaningless staged primary.” At the same time, former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan hinted at withdrawing, saying he would reconsider the value of participating in a race seemingly predetermined in Lee’s favor. On April 13, former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kyoung-soo declared his candidacy, pledging to relocate the nation’s administrative capital to Sejong entirely.


Hye-Ryung Choi herstory@donga.com