Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Kim Chong-in: savior for opposition party?
Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition United Future Party, speaks in an interview with Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, at the National Assembly, Friday. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
When Kim Chong-in took the helm of the moribund United Future Party (UFP) in June when it was reeling from a crushing defeat in April's general election, few believed the veteran politician could resuscitate the conservative party.
However, it has only taken less than three months for Kim to prove them wrong, as evidenced by the UFP's recent approval ratings overtaking that of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which has 176 National Assembly seats, compared to the UFP's 103.
And the credit is going to the long-term-focused leadership of Kim, who is the interim leader of the UFP, although some critics still underestimate the achievement, claiming the UFP's current winning position is mainly thanks to public disappointment toward the government and the ruling side.
According to local pollster Realmeter, Monday, the UFP's approval rating logged 36.3 percent, up 1.7 percentage points from the previous week, while that of the DPK declined by 0.3 percentage points to 34.8 percent. This is the first time the conservative party has surpassed the DPK in the weekly poll since October 2016, when the corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye, a member of the conservative party, was intensifying.
Upon taking leadership, Kim, 80, focused on rebranding the UFP, which has been often criticized as a conservative and authoritarian party that was only based on its strongholds of North and South Gyeongsang provinces. He brought up an idea of a state-offered basic income scheme as the party's principle policy ― an unexpected move that raised speculation that he was attempting to shake the conservative party's negative reputation given that basic income had been an agenda item usually brought up by liberal politicians.
“Kim's political philosophy is based on the idea that a party standing on the side of the weak can claim a victory,” a UFP official said.
In a recent interview with the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, Kim said the public has disapproved of his party because the UFP has given the impression of representing the establishment and the wealthy.
When weeks of heavy rain hit the nation hard earlier this month, Kim proposed a fourth extra budget ― an about-face from the conservative party's tenet of emphasizing fiscal soundness.
In addition, Kim visited flood-stricken Gurye, South Jeolla Province, before the DPK leadership, seen as a move to court voters in the traditional stronghold of the ruling party.
On Wednesday, he and the party leadership also plan to travel to Gwangju to visit the May 18 National Cemetery, where he plans to deliver a message of national unity. Ahead of the general election, some of its lawmakers were under fire for disparaging the 1980 pro-democracy movement in that city.
On the other hand, Kim has stayed away from the ultra-right protesters waving the Korean national flag. On Liberation Day that fell Saturday, they occupied Gwanghwamun Square to rally against the Moon Jae-in administration despite the government's recommendation that they call it off as part of its anti-coronavirus measures.
“There were some inside calls for the party's participation in the protest, but Kim was determined to stay out of it, which has positively affected centrists,” the party official said.
Amid the rising approval ratings, there are growing whispers within the party that Kim's term should be extended as well. His tenure is scheduled to end in April 2021 when by-elections are held to pick municipal heads for Seoul, Busan and other cities.