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| Ahn Chul-soo, president of the National Assembly Party (right) and candidate Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of the People’s Power, greet at the 3.8 World Women’s Day event hosted by the Korean Women’s Association at the Air Force Hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 8th. 2021.3.8/News1 © News1 National Company Promotion Foundation |
The time limit for the unification of candidates for the 4/7 mayoral election by the opposition parties agreed four days in the future, but turbulence continues as conflicts and sutures continue in working-level negotiations between the two sides.
As the negotiations are in conflict with no results, and the nervous war between the two sides is at its peak, including the National Power of the People Oh Se-hoon and the National Assembly candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, it is unknown whether the unification can be achieved by the 19th, the deadline for registration of the candidates.
This reflects the confidence that both sides can absorb the ruling party approval rating shaken by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) speculation, making the calculation method of unifying the opposition more complex.
According to opposition parties on the 15th, the working-level negotiations of both sides agreed to hold a vision presentation that was delayed once on the previous day (14th) at 3pm on this day, and working-level negotiations for unifying candidates will resume.
Accordingly, the negotiations on this day are expected to become a watershed for this unification.
This is because it is difficult to guarantee whether the schedule for the polls on the 17th and 18th and the election of a single candidate on the 19th will proceed as planned if no substantial progress is made in the negotiations on this day.
If the detailed negotiations do not yield results, even if the existing consensus of’decision of single candidate on the 19th’ is maintained, there is no small possibility that even a debate will not be held and unification will proceed.
Candidate Oh’s position is to agree on the number and method of debate first, and to discuss the polling method step by step. On the other hand, Candidate Ahn insists that such issues be settled collectively.
Some are concerned that the unification will be misfired when the final deadline is imminent.
In particular, Candidate Ahn held an unscheduled press conference after agreeing to postpone the vision announcement with Candidate Oh the day before, “If you are responsible for the events that took place in the past government and the city, you will be questioned and explained the past, and you can spend the whole election period.” “Even if all of my supporters and I join forces, the election will be difficult.” It was even interpreted that it was trying to cut down candidate Oh, who resigned from the mayor of Seoul through a free meal referendum in 2011.
In response, Candidate Oh also posted a post on Facebook, saying, “Oh Se-hoon is a necessary and sufficient condition for the victory of the Seoul Mayor’s by-election and presidential election, as well as the grand opposition consolidation,” and “Please gather the power of the citizens of Seoul and the power of the people to Se-hoon Oh.” He has always been at the center of the division of opposition powers, and the unification of candidates who will conceive divisions will lead to divisions in the next presidential elections.”
As the negotiations were sluggish, the elders, including former MP Kim Moo-sung and Lee Jae-oh, standing advisor of the People’s Strength, also came forward and urged rapid unification.
Former CEO Kim held a press conference calling for unification and said, “Each political party must withdraw from the negotiations and make a decision to achieve unification by meeting face-to-face.” We will be judged,” he warned.
In particular, while the passport is on the defensive due to the LH crisis, the opposition’s approval rate rises, leading to increased confidence in both Candidate Oh and Ahn, leading to increased conflict.
In fact, a public opinion poll said that candidates Oh and An were significantly ahead of the Democratic Party Mayor Park Young-sun and the Democratic Mayor of Seoul.
According to the results of a virtual bilateral confrontation survey conducted on 1,000 people aged 18 and over living in Seoul for two days on the 12th to 13th of the last two days, Candidate Oh and Youngseon Park and Candidate Mayor of the Democratic Party of Seoul were 51.8. %, and Candidate Park recorded 33.1%, a difference of 18.7% points (p). (Refer to the website of the Central Election Commission for details)
In the confrontation between Candidate Ahn and Candidate Park, Ahn gained 53.7%, leading to Park (32.3%) by 21.4 percentage points, widening the gap.
It is interpreted that the wave of the voice of former prosecutor general Yoon Seok-yeol’s speech brought to the politics and the spread of suspicion of real estate speculation by employees of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) made the election of the mayor of Seoul greatly fluctuated.