Reform Party, Saemirae Party struggle to impress voters

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party / Yonhap

The Reform Party, led by former People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Lee Jun-seok, and the Saemirae Party, headed by former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Nak-yon, are struggling to impress voters due to lacking policy vision and weak fan bases, according to political watchers, Thursday.

Their subpar performance is in stark contrast to the National Innovation Party, led by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, which has been making impressive strides by earning much higher approval — than the two parties — for proportional representation ahead of the April 10 general elections.

According to a recent poll conducted by Hankook Research commissioned by The Korea Times, the support ratings for the Reform Party and the Saemirae Party stood at 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the support rating for the National Innovation Party stood at 5 percent. Surprisingly, Cho's party had a 15 percent approval in terms of approval rating for proportional representation, compared with the Reform Party's 2 percent and the Saemirae's 1 percent.

Political analysts say the two parties — the Reform Party and the Saemirae Party — have fallen victim to the DPK's internal division that has stolen all the spotlight over the last few weeks.

Kim Hyung-joon, a professor at Pai Chai University and former president of the Korean Association of Electoral Studies, said both parties lack a clear vision and presence, unlike the National Innovation Party, which has a strong base of supporters.

"For a political party to exercise power, it needs to meet three conditions — it must present a clear vision; it needs powerful fandom [or regional base]; its party leaders should have a strong following," he said.

"Lee Jun-seok and Lee Nak-yon have become 'old boys' after Han Dong-hoon and Cho Kuk appeared on the political stage. Lee Jun-seok has rolled out policies to gain support from men in their 20s and 30s, but it's an empty slogan. Lee Nak-yon lost his vitality after merging with Lee Jun-seok and parting ways just 11 days later. The public now has doubts about his reliability," he added.

Lee Nak-yon, leader of the Saemirae Party / Yonhap

Compared to the two Lees, Cho has emerged as an alternative by targeting the prosecution’s growing influence within the Yoon administration.

“Lee Jun-seok made a huge mistake by running for a parliamentary seat. He should have run for a proportional representation seat in order to position himself as a mediator in the parliament. That could have allowed him to run for Seoul mayor later on. There is not much time left, but Kim Chong-in, chief of the nomination committee of the Reform Party, should persuade him to run for a proportional representation seat,” said Park Chang-hwan, a political commentator.

Park continued: “The upcoming elections are a losing game for the Saemirae Party. Even though Reps. Hong Young-pyo and Sul Hoon have joined the party, it will not turn things around.”

Kim said the general elections would boil down to a three-way rivalry between Han of the PPP, Lee Jae-myung of the DPK and Cho of the National Innovation Party.

“Lee Jun-seok should have run for a symbolic district — either Seoul’s Nowon district or Daegu, like Won Hee-ryong, who is competing against the DPK leader in Incheon’s Gyeyang-B district. Lee Nak-yon, a former governor of South Jeolla Province, can’t leave a strong impact by running for a seat in the Jeolla region. It’s too obvious,” Kim said.