Former president Yoon's shadow looms large over his party ahead of June 3 polls

Straits Times

23-04-2025

A policeman stands guard as pro-Yoon supporters hold signs and flags outside the Central District Court in Seoul on April 21. PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL – As South Korea gears up to elect a new leader in less than two months , impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol's influence is still palpable on the political scene.
His ruling People Power Party (PPP) is struggling with internal fracture in the aftermath of Yoon's ouster upheld by the country's Constitutional Court on April 4, over his shock martial law declaration on Dec 3, 2024.
While Yoon loyalists within the party seek to leverage the former president's vocal supporter base, other party members believe it is crucial for the PPP to sever ties with the disgraced president in order to have a shot with the swing voters.
On April 22, the beleaguered party unveiled its shortlist of four candidates for the presidential primary, which was based entirely on an opinion poll of 4,000 respondents .
The candidates – narrowed down from an original eight – include former transport minister Kim Moon-soo and former Daegu city mayor Hong Joon-pyo, both Yoon supporters. Also in the mix are former party chief Han Dong-hoon, and lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo who wants Yoon expelled from the party for his martial law blunder.
Results from the poll showed former Minister Kim leading at 30.72 per cent, Mr Han at 20.28 per cent, Mr Hong at 17 per cent and Mr Ahn at 11.3 per cent.
Front runner Mr Kim rose to popularity, particularly among Yoon supporters, after he was the only Cabinet minister who refused to bow in apology during a parliamentary session on Dec 11, 2024, for failing to prevent the martial law debacle.
Mr Hong, in a policy pledge speech on April 18, spoke out against the calls for Yoon's expulsion from the party, saying that the former president had 'played a key role in bringing about a change in government under the PPP's name'.
Mr Han, a former justice minister, is Yoon's confidant-turned-foe. He had initially led the party to reject the National Assembly's first impeachment attempt against Yoon, but turned on him when allegations emerged that the president was trying to round up and detain his political rivals, including Mr Han, as part of his martial law decree.
PPP will pick its final candidate at a party convention on May 3 .
Yoon is currently facing criminal charges of insurrection for his failed martial law attempt.
Mr Ahn, a fourth-time presidential hopeful, had dropped out of the 2022 presidential race just days before the election and thrown his support behind Yoon, who went on to win a marginal victory over top contender Lee Jae-myung from the opposition Democratic Party.
Associate Professor Hannah Kim, from Seoul's Sogang University Graduate School of International Studies, told The Straits Times that the split in attitudes of the four candidates shows strong divisions within the PPP.
The fact that there were so many contenders within the party emphasised the party's 'struggles to unify behind a single candidate and project cohesion', she said.
The divide within PPP contrasts starkly with the opposition Democratic Party's (DP), which has thrown its weight behind Mr Lee, its former leader.
Mr Lee has been sweeping his party's regional primaries and looks set to be cemented as the liberal party's presidential candidate when the party decides on April 27.
He has consistently led opinion polls as South Korean's preferred presidential pick, hitting a record lead over other potential candidates in the latest poll conducted by Gallup Korea released on April 17.
The poll showed that 38 per cent out of 1,000 respondents favoured Mr Lee.
Tied for second place at a very distant 6 per cent are acting President Han Duck-soo, PPP's former mayor Hong, former Minister Kim and former party chief Mr Han.
Adding fuel to PPP's troubles was the attempt by Yoon's lawyers to set up a new political party called Yoon Again, named after Yoon supporters' rally call for the ousted president to return to politics .
Two of Yoon's defence lawyers from his impeachment trial had planned to announce the launch of the new party on April 18, but cancelled their planned press conference hours later. The lawyers said Yoon played no role in their initiative, and had personally asked them to call it off.
'In the ongoing context of a potential early presidential election, officially launching a party may spark speculation that the president is trying to wield influence or pursue political ambitions – which is not what we intended,' the two lawyers later said in a press statement.
A PPP insider , who is part of Yoon's inner circle, told The Straits Times on the condition of anonymity that the senior party leaders were livid at the announcement that caught them by surprise.
The insider claimed that while both Yoon and the PPP party leaders had heard about the 'vague plans' of a new political party by young Yoon supporters, they were of the impression that the party would be formed only after the presidential elections and were not aware that the lawyers would be fronting it.
'The whole thing was so mismanaged! Party members were on a witch hunt, asking one another whether they knew that this was coming,' the source said, adding that the misstep contributed to the widening gulf between Yoon supporters, many of whom are senior party leaders, and the anti-Yoon camp within the party.
Among voters, loyalty to the former president also appears to hold sway. Madam Kim Kyung-soo, a hardcore Yoon supporter, told ST that she supports Mr Kim because of his affiliation with Yoon, and objects to Mr Han because she sees him as a traitor who turned his back on Yoon.
But the 73-year-old conceded that 'we are all conservatives at the end of the day, so we will still vote as one for the chosen PPP candidate when the election time comes'.
And in a race that is increasingly likely to be won by DP's Mr Lee, Prof Kim emphasises the need for a unified PPP if it still hopes to run a credible race come June 3.
'With just about 40 days remaining till the snap election, there simply isn't enough time for these contenders to fight among themselves regarding Yoon's actions. The party needs to rally together behind one candidate and present a unified front, and focus on showing voters the forward-looking policy agendas of the PPP,' she warned.
Wendy Teo is The Straits Times' South Korea correspondent based in Seoul. She covers issues concerning the two Koreas.
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