“Abandoning the presidential election” Election of the mayor of Seoul by Ahn Chul-soo… Dilemma

The by-election of the mayor of Seoul, which is considered the highlight of the 4·7 re-election, raged on the 20th of last month. While major candidates postponed the declaration of the run, Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of the National Assembly Party, shouted “Abandoning the presidential power, unifying the opposition.” The opposition parties were keenly aware of the appearance of Ahn, who had been supported by the middle class in the past.

In the Democratic Party, there are no additional candidates for the 20th day since Rep. Sang-ho Woo first declared running. As for the party, it is also burdensome to raise the election atmosphere amid the spread of Corona 19.
Seoul Mayor Kim Min-seok appeared on the broadcast on the 30th of last month, “I start registering candidates at the end of January. The candidates will be confirmed through the nominations after the New Year’s Day.”He said, “As the situation of Corona 19 is not easy, I wonder if the public will not have enough time to pay attention to the contest until early January.”

Choosing the point between gathering supporters and expanding midway is the core of the ruling party’s struggling election strategy. Park Sung-min, CEO of political consultancy, said, “The Democratic Party has seen the effect of gathering supporters in the recent four national elections. It will not be much different this time because it has a certain plan A.” However, in the party, “the overall flow of public sentiment cannot be seen as good,” citing the fact that the election was held for reasons attributable to the former Mayor Park Won-soon and the Corona 19, the real estate problem. Concerns have also been raised that one should pay attention to targeting the middle class” (re-election in the metropolitan area).

About Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, who runs the No. 1 poll in the polls, there is a saying that “a few have already set up camps and started preparing under water.” However, he said he was before he was convinced. In his passport, he sees the possibility of running. A party official said, “If I make a decision to run, I will resign as the minister of medium-term ventures and naturally participate in the contest.”

Rep. Park Ju-min will also officially announce his position soon. Observations are being raised that they will not run in consideration of Congressman Woo, who is equipped with organizational power, and Secretary Park, who has a leading approval rating. In a recent radio interview, he said, “It doesn’t seem polite to turn it off further. I will tell you as soon as possible.”

In addition to these, the possibility of becoming a’third candidate’ is also mentioned. Lim Jong-seok, former president of the presidential secretary, is also one of the figures discussed. However, his aide dismissed the possibility of running, saying, “We support Sang-ho Woo.” Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae is also mentioned as a candidate, but there is also a saying that he is not interested in the mayor of Seoul. Minister Chu, a former party leader, is said to be more interested in his role in the next presidential election than mayor of Seoul.

The Democratic Party put forward an’unconditional primary’ as a principle. RipeA political consultant who wanted Myeong said, “It seems that there is a high possibility for a two-way match between Park Young-seon and Woo Sang-ho, or Park Young-seon, Woo Sang-ho, and Park Ju-min.” Rep. Woo is trying to mobilize a strong supporter by insisting on’unification of the party’s party’ with the Open Democratic Party candidate Kim Jin-ae.

The biggest variable in the opposition was Ahn Cheol-soo. It is fighting a nerve war above and below the surface of the people’s strength. In an interview with Munhwa Ilbo on December 30, Ahn said, “It is negative. I am not stubborn for me. When I look at the electorate, I have doubts whether I can win the election that way.” On the same day, Kim Jong-in, chairman of the National Power Emergency Response Committee, argued that Ahn’s single candidate for opposition opposition, “It has nothing to do with our mission. Representative Ahn’s unification seems like a request to unify himself.”

The people’s strength is relatively devoted to accommodating the middle class. It is because of the analysis that the possibility of the center vote in the metropolitan area moved toward the opposition party due to the election of Ahn and former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop. The party official “This time, we must get the public sentiment of the angered middle-class government judge’I will not shoot the Democratic Party’,” he said. “It is still difficult to conclude, but I see the recent reversal of party approval ratings as a positive sign.”Said.

As reflecting expectations, there are several candidates who have already declared their run for office.

Former lawmakers Lee Jong-gu, Lee Hye-hoon, Kim Seon-dong, and Oh Shin-hwan, professor Kim Geun-sik, Cho Eun-hee, Seocho-gu mayor, and former Songpa-gu mayor Park Chun-hee, are moving actively after declaring a run for mayor of Seoul. Among them, former lawmaker Lee Jong-gu said in a call with JoongAng Ilbo on the 31st, “There is a lot of time left until the next election, and the approval ratings that are coming out now can change at any time.” As it is a task, I will do my best in the candidate contest by highlighting the merit of being an economic expert.”

Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former lawmaker Na Gyeong-won, whose possibility of running is being discussed, are fiddling with the vote. In a recent interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, former lawmaker Na said, “It doesn’t mean that Ahn is the number one in the (current poll). “It is not only within the margin of error, but if the approval ratings of the party candidates are added together, it is much higher than that of Ahn.” Mayor Oh also said, “CEO Ahn feels in a hurry. I will make a decision in the new year.” Also, the rumors of former Grand National Party lawmaker Hong Jeong-wook have not completely faded.

It is analyzed that the victory or defeat of the conservative camp depends on whether it is possible to unify the pan-opposition for the establishment of a’single-lease-of-law’, and how much antagonism and bleeding within the opposition can be reduced in the process. Various scenarios are discussed, from the argument that CEO Ahn must join the people within and outside the power of the people, the unification of the opposition after the internal contest, and the conservative big tent consolidation contest. In this regard, Rep. Jeong Jin-seok, who served as the chairman of the party’s mission committee, said, “It is a strict order of the people to choose the best candidate with the highest win rate.”

Reporters Saerom Sim and Gukhee Son [email protected]