Main opposition party struggles to find June election candidates, bringing back old guards

Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party, leaves after a briefing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

While the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) continues to list candidates for the June local and by-elections, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is struggling to field contenders, relying on old guards amid internal disputes and a declining support rate.

With just 40 days remaining, the PPP has yet to finalize its candidates for key mayoral and by-election races, including in Gyeonggi Province and Busan, the country’s second-largest city, as of Friday. The conservative party is also showing signs of polarization over Chairman Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok’s leadership, with growing calls for his resignation.

For the by-election for the parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek B, Gyeonggi Province, political heavyweights have gathered. Minor Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk, Jinbo Party leader Kim Jae-yeon and former acting president and conservative party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn have all announced their bids. The PPP, however, has yet to field a candidate.

While Choo Mi-ae, a former justice minister and six-term lawmaker, has been actively campaigning as the DPK candidate in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial race since April 7, the PPP remains effectively empty-handed, fielding three unconventional primary contenders — Yang Hyang-ja, a former lawmaker; two-term lawmaker Ham Jin-gyu; and former MBC anchor Lee Seong-bae, none of whom is seen as a serious match for Choo.

Meanwhile, the PPP is bringing back old guards. The party said Yoon Gap-geun, a former member of impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team, will be its candidate in the North Chungcheong Province gubernatorial race.

The Daegu mayoral primary was narrowed last week to a contest between Rep. Chu Kyung-ho, a key pro-Yoon figure who served as first deputy prime minister and finance minister in the Yoon administration, and Rep. Yoo Young-ha, a close confidant of impeached former President Park Geun-hye.

Nominated mayoral candidates lack fresh faces, with most drawn from incumbent chiefs and sitting lawmakers.

Including four-term Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the PPP has nominated incumbents in 10 of the country’s 16 metropolitan and provincial governments, which include Incheon, Gangwon Province, Daejeon City, Sejong City, South Chungcheong Province, North Gyeongsang Province, South Gyeongsang Province, Ulsan and Busan.

The situation is showing no signs of a breakthrough for the PPP. The polling numbers continue to fall to record-low levels.

The approval rating for the ruling party remained unchanged from a week earlier at 48 percent, while support for the opposition party stood at 20 percent and independent voters accounted for 26 percent, according to a survey released Friday of 1,001 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday to Thursday.

Another survey, jointly conducted by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research and released Thursday, showed support for the PPP at a record low of 15 percent, while the DPK registered 48 percent. The poll of 1,005 adults was conducted from April 20 to 22.

The polls have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Some PPP members, such as Rep. Jin Jong-oh, have openly pledged to back the campaign of Han Dong-hoon, the expelled former PPP leader and former justice minister who is expected to run in the by-election for the parliamentary seat for Busan’s Buk District A, calling it an effort to rebuild the conservative bloc.

PPP leader Jang hinted at taking disciplinary measures against those who help Han as part of efforts to unify votes, but sentiment inside the PPP remains mixed and divided.

Amid calls for his resignation and low approval ratings, Jang said early Friday that he would think about whether it would be helpful for his party's election win, only to walk back the remark a few hours later.

“I will do my best to see the local elections through and then accept the verdict," Jang wrote in a social media post.

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the PPP criticized Jang's "incompetence" during a radio show Friday, saying many PPP lawmakers "have now become numb to the low support rate."

She added that most of them no longer expect anything from the leadership and that the party's election campaigns will effectively run on their own.

Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.