Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Impact of ex-president’s departure from PPP will be limited: experts
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol leaves the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, May 12. Joint Press Corps
By Jung Min-ho
Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision has so far failed to galvanize enough support around Kim Moon-soo
Can conservative Kim Moon-soo build a united front before the June 3 presidential election and rally enough support to overcome Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)?
In an effort to boost Kim's struggling campaign, former President Yoon Suk Yeol officially left the People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday. His severing ties with the party is seen as an attempt to rally conservative voters behind Kim in what is shaping up to be a tough race.
So far, however, the move has fallen short of rallying sufficient support from reform-minded members within the party — a critical faction needed to mount a viable challenge against Lee Jae-myung of the DPK.
“Although I am leaving the party, I will continue to stand at the forefront to defend freedom and national sovereignty,” Yoon said in a social media post. “Please give your support to Kim Moon-soo. Make sure to cast your vote. Your vote is needed for a path toward safeguarding this country’s freedom, sovereignty and prosperity.”
Yet the impact of his announcement on the race will likely be limited, given the content and timing of the message, according to experts on Sunday.
“I think it’s too late. The DPK wants to frame this election as a fight between insurrectionists, led by Yoon, and the rest. Yoon is just helping that effort,” Shin Yul, a political commentator and professor at Myongji University, told The Korea Times. “The key is to win back moderate voters by giving a clear message that it is no longer with Yoon. But I think the PPP has failed, at least so far, to give that message convincingly to the public.”
Cho Jin-man, a political science professor at Duksung Women’s University, said, “Not having the disgraced former president — who was already unpopular even before his martial law declaration in December 2024 — is still better than keeping him in the party. In that sense, the party has averted the worst-case scenario.”
He added, “But that does not mean that his departure will help meaningfully boost the party’s election chances. I don’t see any way for the PPP candidate to win the election unless he successfully musters support from those with reformist views within and outside the party.”
Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, speaks at the party's headquarters in Seoul, Sunday. Joint Press Corps
Nevertheless, Yoon’s decision to leave the party and Kim’s belated apology Thursday regarding the imposition of martial law have provided justification for PPP reformists to help his campaign.
Han Dong-hoon, a leading figure in the party’s reformist faction, announced that he will launch a four-day tour starting Tuesday in Busan and other cities nationwide, signaling his support for Kim.
However, Han made it clear that he would not officially join Kim’s campaign unless he meets three preconditions: that Kim approves the decision to impeach Yoon, cuts ties with Yoon and his wife and keeps his distance from radical right-wingers. During the impeachment crisis, Kim said he opposed the martial law decision but refused to support any move to impeach Yoon.
Meanwhile, the DPK painted Yoon’s departure from the PPP as a “coordinated political ploy.”
“It’s unscrupulous to try to deceive the public when there are many signs that it is a staged and fake departure. No one is going to be fooled by this political show,” Rep. Hwang Jung-a, a spokeswoman for Lee’s campaign, said in a statement. “No matter how much they try to hide it, Kim Moon-soo and insurgency mastermind Yoon Suk Yeol are one and the same.”
According to the latest poll conducted by Gallup Korea from May 13-15, 51 percent of respondents said they would support Lee, while 29 percent said they would cast their ballots for Kim. Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the minor Reform Party, received 8 percent support.
The poll has a 95 percent confidence level with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Details can be found on the website of the poll review committee of the National Election Commission.