Rival party leaders to compete to court centrist voters

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

The leaders of Korea’s two major parties, ruling People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Han Dong-hoon and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung, are set to compete for centrist voters as they seek to bolster their respective political blocs.

Han and Lee are now the leading potential presidential candidates from the conservative and liberal blocs. Their showdown will involve strategies designed not only to rally their party's strong support bases but also to attract centrist voters, as they seek to present their ambitious visions and gain an advantage over one another, according to political analysts.

Han, who served as the interim leader of the PPP during the April 10 general elections and resigned following the party's crushing defeat, was re-elected as its chairman in July at a national convention. The former DPK chief, who stepped down from his role in June to pursue a second term, successfully regained the chairmanship at the main opposition party's convention on Sunday.

“From now on, the heads of the rival parties need to come up with a strategy to woo moderate voters to prepare for the local elections in 2026, and the presidential election in 2027. They cannot win these elections if they lose centrist voters,” political commentator Park Sang-byeong said.

"The PPP needs to manage President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating, while the DPK must address Lee’s legal challenges. If the PPP remains mired in ideological debates, it risks facing outcomes worse than their previous electoral defeat."

Yoon’s approval rating dropped to 30.7 percent, a decrease of 2.9 percentage points from the previous week, according to a survey by polling agency Realmeter released on Monday. The negative assessment of Yoon’s performance was attributed to his appointment of Kim Hyoung-suk as the new director of the Independence Hall of Korea and his handling of ideological debates.

Lee was indicted on several charges, including bribery and breach of duty. These charges involve the alleged provision of illegal favors to private developers for a land development project in Daejang-dong, a neighborhood in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, while he was mayor of the city. Additional allegations include announcing false information during the 2021 presidential campaign and involvement in the transfer of illicit funds to North Korea.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, left, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks with party floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae during a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Shin Yul, a professor of political science at Myongji University, said both Han and Lee must broaden their support base to include moderate voters, as both the PPP and DPK remain equally unpopular in Korea.

“Both parties need to work on an image makeover. As long as Lee can navigate the shifting public sentiment and manage his legal issues, he can leverage his strong support base and the DPK's majority to press the PPP into making concessions,” Shin said.

On Monday, the parties said Han and Lee would meet the following Sunday. Lee had proposed the bilateral talks immediately after his election victory the previous day.

“I look forward to an open and frank discussion on various agenda,” Han said during a Supreme Council meeting.

The DPK said the two sides will hold working-level talks in advance to coordinate the agenda for the upcoming meeting.

Both leaders expressed a commitment to focusing on improving people's livelihoods, noting that many related bills have been stalled at the National Assembly for months due to bipartisan disputes over other contentious issues.

However, analysts expressed skepticism about the likelihood of a meaningful outcome.

“I think cooperative politics is nearly impossible. Their meeting will likely be more about photo opportunities than achieving tangible results. I don’t expect any concrete agreements, as their goals for the meeting are quite different,” Park said.

“Lee’s supporters back him to challenge the Yoon administration, not to collaborate with it. I believe Lee is reaching out to Yoon and Han primarily for his own benefit, perhaps to avoid legal consequences. On the other hand, Han is unlikely to advance his agenda due to the strong opposition from the presidential office.”

Shin predicted that the DPK chief might be open to cooperating on issues such as inheritance tax reforms and the elimination of financial investment income taxes. However, he agreed that the chances for a fruitful outcome are slim due to the conflicting views of the rival parties on contentious issues, including a cash handout bill and a pro-labor bill, both of which the president has vetoed.

While Lee also proposed bilateral talks with Yoon, the presidential office emphasized that the normalization of the National Assembly should precede any one-on-one meeting with the opposition leader. Analysts suggest that Yoon may consider meeting with Lee after the opposition leader's first court verdict on election law violation charges is delivered in October.