ED Conservatives at crossroads

With less than 50 days to the June 3 snap presidential election, there has been a lot of activity among members of the once-ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP). With the impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol undergoing a criminal trial for insurrection, there were hopes that candidates would emerge from within the party. Anticipation has dwindled, though, as figures considered more centrist and moderate, such as Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, have bowed out of the race or declined to enter. Another potential candidate, Yoo Seong-min, also said he would not run in the party race.

Instead, acting President Han Duck-soo has been touted as a possible presidential candidate. As a long-time technocrat with a focus on trade, as well as a former ambassador to the United States and a two-time prime minister, his track record and temperament are a strong fit with the PPP's needs in the coming election. "I will fulfill my last mission along with the Cabinet members," is all the acting president has said so far. Even so, a recent poll found support for him has risen.

The PPP faces strong opposition from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) where Rep. Lee Jae-myung, a former presidential candidate who lost to Yoon in 2022, currently commands a strong lead in major polls. A survey released Monday showed Han earning 8.6 percent, second-highest among PPP candidates. In the same poll, Lee received 48.8 percent among the 1,506 respondents surveyed.

Han should speak definitively to stem the rumors of creating a possible "big-tent" among conservatives. Instead, the PPP floor leader has spoken for Han, saying Tuesday that he will not run. The fact that Han's seeming indirect refusal has not dampened calls for him to run illustrates the PPP's vulnerability — no strong candidate within the party.

For one thing, the acting president is not affiliated with the PPP, and if he should decide to run, he would be another outside recruit like Yoon was. PPP Rep. Na Kyung-won, who will compete in the party nomination process, has pointed out party's overreliance on outside figures, despite Han's experience in government. Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who also announced his candidacy, said, "It runs against common sense for a prime minister from an impeached government to run. It is akin to fielding a referee." The Constitutional Court dismissed Han's impeachment case, but as Yoon's prime minister, critics regard him as having failed to stop Yoon from declaring martial law on Dec. 3.

The more dismal prospect for conservatives is how to deal with the former president's legacy. Among the four prospective candidates, former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo and Rep. Na were seen as opposing Yoon's impeachment, while former party leader Han Dong-hoon and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo supported it. This, along with the former president's comment that he had won after he returned to his private residence, unnecessarily adds to the impression that he has not accepted the impeachment verdict. Instead of pinning its hopes to a specific candidate like Han, now is the time for the PPP to discard the legacy left by Yoon and regain public trust.

Both the PPP and DPK are wrangling over internal rules for candidate nominations. The two parties, with eyes set on the June 3 presidential election, are busy with political calculations over nomination rules and possible candidates gauging their chances. But it's hard to deny the advantage the DPK has over the PPP, tarred with having produced an impeached president.

PPP members, including would-be and preliminary candidates, must start thinking ahead of the immediate nomination process to suggest forward-looking policies. The public is wary of turmoil and nervous of the economic and political roller coaster ride U.S. President Donald Trump is taking the world on. The public is also aware of risks surrounding the DPK leader. But above it all, many may well be waiting in essence for a working — not warring — party that can produce a message and a platform that promises to alleviate the deep divides in the country.