Ruling party members distance themselves from Yoon as elections near

Han Dong-hoon, center, interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, speaks during a canvassing event in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday. Yonhap

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is distancing itself from President Yoon Suk Yeol, seemingly concerned that the declining popularity of the leader could further hamper the party's already precarious position in the upcoming April 10 general elections.

Yoon's resolute stance on increasing the medical school admissions quota by 2,000 per year, emphasized in his televised speech on Monday, has exacerbated the PPP's concerns that aligning with what could be perceived as a stubborn government could result in more drawbacks than benefits to its campaign strategy. The governing party has been struggling to reverse the current electoral landscape which currently favors its liberal rival, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

Some ruling party members criticized Yoon's speech, where he spent 51 minutes explaining the rationale behind his medical reform plan. That plan was met with mass resignations of thousands of trainee doctors in protest. Despite opening the door for talks with doctors regarding the quota, many PPP members stated that the address failed to resonate with the public, which is expecting the government to devise an exit strategy and initiate negotiations with the striking doctors.

After Yoon's speech, the PPP's interim leader Han Dong-hoon said at a canvassing event, "The government's management of state affairs might not meet your expectations, but I am not the one to blame," he said, differentiating himself and his party from the government. "For the past 97 days, I've made changes whenever you requested them, and I'll continue to do so in the future," Han added.

Some have voiced frustration over the situation, criticizing the Yoon administration for not demonstrating flexibility regarding the medical school quota issue.

A PPP lawmaker vividly likened the situation to "the feeling of dinosaurs sensing extinction as they watch a comet flying toward the Earth," as quoted by the local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun.

Ham Woon-kyung, the PPP's candidate running in Seoul's Mapo-B constituency, demanded the president to "stay away from politics and give up his party membership," in a bold protest against Yoon's speech.

But Ham retracted his comments just a day later, apologizing for going too far. But the candidate said he still believes the presidential office should show a shift in its stance.

"Criticism is mounting over the president's inflexible communication and governance approach. The recent public address failed to effectively alleviate public discontent surrounding the medical school admissions quota, which has emerged as a pivotal election issue," Ham told local radio CBS, Tuesday.

Rep. Jeong Woon-chun, a PPP candidate running in the Jeonju-B constituency in North Jeolla Province, speaks during a press conference near North Jeolla Provincial Office, Monday. Yonhap

Several PPP candidates called on the president to make a public apology over the mishandling of state affairs.

Rep. Cho Hae-jin, the PPP's candidate running in the Gimhae-B constituency of South Gyeongsang Province, called on Yoon to apologize to the public so the ruling party could regain its footing.

"At this rate, our party will suffer a crushing defeat and our nation will be ruined," the three-term lawmaker said during a press conference, Sunday. "However, there is one way out. It's for Yoon to kneel before the people. He must apologize to party members and the people for disappointing them and causing divisions within the party."

Rep. Jeong Woon-chun, another PPP candidate running in the Jeonju-B constituency of North Jeolla Province, also called for an apology from the president, as well as the resignation of Cabinet members.

"Yoon must acknowledge the prevailing negative public sentiment and recognize that persisting with his image as a stubborn prosecutor is not a sustainable approach to governance," Jeong said during a press conference, Monday.

According to a Realmeter poll released on Monday, which surveyed 2,509 adults, Yoon's approval rating stood at 36.3 percent, marking a 0.2 percentage point drop compared to the previous week and declining for the fifth consecutive week. Analysts said a major reason for Yoon's stalled approval rating was negative public sentiment regarding the prolonged standoff between the government and doctors.

Kim Hyung-joon, a professor at Paichai University and former president of the Korean Association of Electoral Studies, viewed that although these voices critical of the president do not represent the majority of the PPP members, the perceived internal discord could damage the party's reputation just a week ahead of the elections.

"There does seem to be a growing sentiment within the PPP that aligning closely with the president will not help the party win the election, especially after his speech failed to persuade neither the public nor the doctors as to why he is particularly insisting on 2,000 slots," Kim told The Korea Times.

The aforementioned survey, conducted between last Thursday and Friday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a credibility rate of 95 percent. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website.