Expectations, concerns mixed as millennials to speak for main opposition party

Main opposition People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, right, applauds with new spokespersons of the party during a meeting at the National Assembly, Seoul, Tuesday. From left are spokesmen Lim Seung-ho and Yang Jun-woo, vice spokesman Shin In-kyu, and Lee. Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

After appointing 36-year-old Lee Jun-seok as its chairman, the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has picked a pair of millennials as its spokesmen, drawing both acclamation and concerns as fresh figures to deliver the messages of the main opposition party as the country enters the preliminary stage of the presidential election.

During a televised contest to select the spokespersons, Monday, Lim Seung-ho, 27, and Yang Jun-woo, 26, finished in first and second place, respectively, and will each serve six-month terms.

Lim is a student at Kyungpook National University Law School, and has a background of serving in 2019 as a vice spokesman representing young people for the Liberty Korea Party, a predecessor of the PPP, and for the Bareun Party, a conservative faction that existed from January 2017 to February 2018.

Yang, who introduced himself as a jobseeker, has no political background. He gained public attention during the April 7 by-elections for the Seoul and Busan mayors, with his speech for then-PPP candidate Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

"I was a jobseeker who was playing computer games at home until several days ago, but now I am the spokesma of the main opposition party," Yang said. "I believe the voices of those in their 20s and 30s need to be heard in running the country for the long-term."

The open debate contest to select its spokespersons was the idea of PPP Chairman Lee, who became a political sensation after becoming the youngest-ever head of the party last month. After his election, Korea's political circle began making efforts to bring forth young people's voice in politics, with Cheong Wa Dae creating the new post of secretary for youth affairs and appointing a 25-year-old college student to the position.

Lee's idea to hold a debate contest, an experimental practice here, apparently succeeded in drawing public attention. More than 121,000 people sent text messages to vote for their favorite candidates during the televised contest, according to the PPP. More than 560 people applied for the contest and the show aired on the PPP's and conservative cable TV Chosun's YouTube channels garnering more than 34,000 real-time views.

The opposition's success overshadows the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) race to choose its presidential candidate. According to Nielsen Korea's TV ratings, a debate featuring DPK presidential contenders, aired by KBS July 4, posted a 4.4 percent viewing rate, while the semifinal of PPP's spokesperson contest, aired June 30 on TV Chosun, recorded a 4.998 percent rating.

The gap was wider on the two shows' YouTube clips, with the final of the PPP's contest aired Monday recording nearly 210,000 hits as of Tuesday morning, compared to the latest edition of the DPK presidential candidates' debate show aired Sunday, with some 137,000.

PPP floor leader Kim Gi-hyeon mocked the ruling party Tuesday, saying "The DPK seems like a giant fossilized dinosaur," and, "The process of selecting the party's presidential candidate does not match that of the opposition party's selection of its spokesperson."

People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, left, pins the party's badge onto new spokesman Yang Jun-woo during their meeting at the National Assembly, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University said the TV ratings show the PPP is outscoring the DPK, and the appointment of new spokespersons for the opposition party will be a boost in gaining support from younger people, who are expected to be swing voters in the upcoming presidential election next March.

"The ability to appeal to the public is extremely important in politics," Shin said. "By having a chairman in his 30s and spokespersons in their 20s, the PPP is sending the message that you also can do something. ... Politics is about messages and framing, which are made from the words you use. By appointing young spokespersons, the PPP can make a political frame based on young people's words. This is a great advantage."

On the other hand, concern is lingering that young people's ascent in politics may end up being exploited as "an accessory" used in conventional politicians' election campaigns.

During an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Lim said it is an "undeniable truth that both the ruling and opposition parties have used young people as an accessory," but "it is time to make generational changes across all parties based on Chairman Lee's political experiments."

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