Ban Yoon and non-lawyers have something in common… Possibility of ‘third zone’ solidarity if early presidential election is held
“It is a political means to shake up the inside of the People Power Party.” (Professor Shin Yul, Department of Political Science and Diplomacy, Myongji University)
“If an early presidential election is held, Rep. Lee Jun-seok needs a symbolic figure with a moderate conservative image.” (Lee Jong-hoon, current affairs critic)
Experts analyzed the ‘love call’ sent by Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party to Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party. Rep. Lee appeared on a YouTube channel on December 31 last year and was asked by the host, “If you were to stand in solidarity with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo, former CEO Han Dong-hoon, or Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who would you do it with?” he answered, “Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo is the best.” “I think he is a worthy candidate,” he said. In response to this, Rep. Ahn expressed his position that solidarity is premature. He appeared on the Dong-A Ilbo YouTube channel on January 7 and said, “I don’t think it is a presidential election phase and it is not an issue to consider now.”
The two have been enemies in the political world since they faced each other in Nowonbyeong, Seoul during the 20th general election in 2016. In the June 2018 by-election, there was a conflict within the Bareunmirae Party over the nomination of Roh Won-byeong. In October 2023, there was a war of words over the controversy over Rep. Ahn’s profanity that came out during the campaign to support the by-election for the head of Gangseo-gu, Seoul.
Once upon a time, a representative of the political world.
However, since the inauguration of the 22nd National Assembly, Rep. Ahn has taken the anti-Yoon (Ban Yoon Seok-yeol) line in the ruling party, creating a mood for reconciliation between the two. At the plenary session of the National Assembly held on July 4th last year, Rep. Ahn attended the vote on the ‘Special Prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong Act’ and was the only ruling party member to vote in favor. Rep. Lee shouted “Ahn Cheol-soo, fighting!” in a loud voice. In an interview on December 31, Rep. Lee said, “Even if there are differences of opinion (with Rep. Ahn), if we have to join hands in creating a new political landscape, I will go first and apologize to Rep. Ahn for what has happened over the past few years.”
Representative Ahn, who gave strength to President Yoon Seok-yeol through unification in the 20th presidential election, had a falling out with President Yoon after his opinion was not reflected in the selection of the first cabinet when he served as chairman of the presidential transition committee. Afterwards, he made his anti-Yun policy clear by expressing negative opinions regarding the expansion of medical schools. Regarding the martial law situation, he maintained the position that “if the president does not reveal his plan to step down, I have no choice but to agree to impeachment,” and voted in favor of the two impeachment bills and remained in the plenary session.
The discord between Rep. Lee and President Yoon runs deeper. Since the preparation for the 20th presidential election, Rep. Lee, who was the party leader at the time, and President Yoon have been at odds over every issue, including the controversy over leaked phone calls and recruiting talent. Before the 22nd general election, he founded the New Reform Party and increased the level of criticism against President Yoon.
In addition to being Ban Yoon, the two lawmakers have something in common: they are non-lawyers. On December 31 last year, Rep. Lee said, “The public has seen the limitations of legal politics, so we need to go beyond them. Rep. Ahn did not engage in legal politics that does not differentiate between good and evil, but instead talked a lot about the future.” Rep. Ahn said on January 7, “If you need someone who is knowledgeable about science, the future, the economy, and industry, I am the only one (in the party) who is good at it. The rest are lawyers.” Chae Jin-won, a professor at the Public Governance Research Institute at Kyunghee University, said, “The public is feeling fatigued in a situation where lawyers are creating the judicialization of politics and the politicization of the judiciary. In this situation, Rep. Lee found the commonality with Rep. Ahn and highlighted it.” said.
“When citing impeachment, the variable is whether the People Power Party is divided”
The reason why the possibility of solidarity between the two is attracting attention is because of the possibility of an early presidential election if the impeachment bill is accepted by the Constitutional Court. After the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, non-Park (non-Park Geun-hye) forces emerged from the ruling party at the time and founded the Bareun Party, and the 19th presidential election was held in a multi-party structure.
Expert opinions differ on the possibility of the third zone becoming more prominent. Critic Lee Jong-hoon said, “If impeachment is cited, there is a high possibility that the People Power Party will be shaken up within the People Power Party. If the party splits into pro-yun (pro-yoon seok-yeol) and non-yun groups, there is a possibility of a merger between the newly created political party and the new reform party.” predicted. Professor Chae Jin-won said, “In a situation where Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating is limited to around 40%, the fight to occupy the remaining 60% is intensifying and a third zone may be highlighted,” adding, “If the People Power Party is heading toward an extreme right-wing party, “In this situation, Rep. Lee Jun-seok was referring to Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who has moderate expansion potential, as a partner in the presidential election project,” he explained. On the other hand, Professor Shin Yul said, “The possibility of the ruling party being divided is not high because we experienced in the last presidential election that ‘if we split, we will die.’”
Meanwhile, according to the results of a New Year’s opinion poll commissioned by Research & Research by Dong-A Ilbo and conducted 100% through wireless phone interviews on December 28 and 29 last year (see the National Election Opinion Survey Deliberation Committee website for details), the person most suitable to be the next president is Representatives Ro Ahn and Lee received approval ratings of 3.0% and 2.3%, respectively.
Reporter Moon Young-hoon [email protected]
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