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Opposition party seeks breakthrough by overhauling presidential campaign

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Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, arrives at the party's headquarters in Seoul, Monday, after canceling his afternoon campaign plans. The party said all of his campaign activities will be suspended for now as it revamps the election committee. Yonhap
Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, arrives at the party's headquarters in Seoul, Monday, after canceling his afternoon campaign plans. The party said all of his campaign activities will be suspended for now as it revamps the election committee. Yonhap

PPP candidate Yoon vows to start over again amid falling support rate

By Kang Seung-woo

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol made a drastic decision Monday to completely overhaul their election committee and campaign, hoping to stop a sharp decline in approval ratings of the candidate and the party with just two months left before the March 9 presidential election.

All of the standing chairs of the conservative party's election committee, co-chairs, as well as the heads of divisions and sub-organizations offered to resign as part of the sweeping overhaul, according to the party.

The PPP initially said Kim Chong-in, the head of the committee, also offered his resignation, but it said about an hour later that Kim would stay, adding there was a misunderstanding among party members.

Yoon, who attended an event to mark the New Year opening of the local stock market in the morning, canceled all of his plans for the day and vowed to start all over again.

Earlier in the day, Kim said the committee will undergo restructuring, while Yoon's campaign will be suspended until they conclude the reforms.

"To show that the party is working hard to live up to public sentiment, I will carry out a major reshuffle of the election committee," Kim said during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul.

"The election committee has to rally itself to get Yoon elected. As I stressed several times before, each member of the committee should refrain from making comments putting the candidate and the party under fire."

Following the meeting, Kim, who helped President Moon Jae-in and his predecessor Park Geun-hye enter Cheong Wa Dae, said, "The current public opinion toward the PPP is that we have to renovate ourselves. Otherwise, we will not be able to conduct the election properly," admitting that the results of recent public polls had affected the plan.

In line with Kim's overhaul plan, PPP floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon and chief policymaker Rep. Kim Do-eup offered to step down later in the day.

Party spokeswoman Rep. Jun Joo-hyae said, "All PPP lawmakers agreed that we need to make all efforts for a change of government through Yoon and that the candidate needs to have full authority in the party and the election committee."

Along with the envisaged reorganization of the election committee, Yoon suspended his campaign trail starting Monday afternoon to focus on the restructuring.

The unexpected move by the PPP comes as Yoon's approval ratings in a majority of public polls have fallen behind those of Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) recently following a series of internal feuds involving PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok and controversy over Yoon's wife allegedly lying on her resumes.

According to a Realmeter survey commissioned by OhmyNews and conducted on 3,037 adults from Dec. 26 to 31, Yoon showed a 39.2 percent support rate, compared to Lee's 40.9 percent. Taking a closer look, Lee overtook Yoon among voters in their 20s, an age group considered to hold the swing votes. That survey showed 33.6 percent of voters in their 20s backing Lee, while 28 percent support Yoon.

Another poll by the Korea Society Opinion Institute at the request of TBS showed Lee leading Yoon 41 percent to 37.1 percent. That poll of 1,002 adults nationwide was conducted on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

In an Embrain Public survey commissioned by the Joongang Ilbo, Lee's lead over Yoon widened significantly to 9.5 percentage points, with the liberal candidate gaining 39.4 percent and his conservative rival posting 29.9 percent. The survey of 1,010 adults was conducted from Dec. 30 to 31.

Further details of the surveys are available on the websites of the poll agencies or the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

In response to his declining ratings ― particularly among voters in their 20s and 30s ― Yoon wrote on his Facebook, "I am admitting that I have disappointed the young generation. I failed to figure out what they wanted."

He was referring particularly to internal disputes among party members involving the appointment of Shin Ji-ye, former head of the Korean Women's Political Network, as deputy head of a sub-organization of the election camp named Saesidae Preparatory Committee. The invitation of the vocal feminist caused backlash from some members, especially young male ones who supported PPP Chairman Lee, who claimed that feminism-based policies discriminate against young men.

Yoon added: "I will start over."

Earlier in the day, Shin announced her resignation on her Facebook. Also, Kim Han-gil, the head of the Saesidae Preparatory Committee, tendered his resignation.

The declining support for Yoon has partially benefited Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, as evidenced by his double-digit approval ratings in several recent polls.

There is increasing speculation that the PPP may seek a unified candidacy among the opposition bloc by having Yoon as the single candidate. However, Ahn made it clear that he has no intention of agreeing to that scenario, saying, "I will prove that I am a qualified candidate to those who are disappointed by both Lee and Yoon."
Kang Seung-woo ksw@koreatimes.co.kr


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