Se-hoon Oh (right) Power of the People Candidate Mayor of Seoul and Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party of Seoul meet and shake hands at the Candidate Unified TV Debate held on the 16th. News 1
Ahead of the 4/7 Seoul mayor’s by-election, negotiations on the unification rules between opposition candidates Oh Se-hoon, National Power Candidate and Ahn Cheol-soo, National Assembly candidate, broke down again on the 17th. This is because, after the TV debate between the two candidates, changes in public sentiment were expected, and the calculation method of the negotiators on both sides became more complicated. As the last-minute pains in negotiations continue, fears of unification or loss of the opposition party continue to flow.
‘Parallel line’ even in the marathon negotiations on the second day
The People’s Power and the People’s Party Candidate Unification Working Group met three times on this day, but could not agree on the unification rules. Shortly after the meeting, the secretary general of the People’s Party Lee Tae-gyu explained that “the two parties repeatedly discussed the proposal and the amendment proposal, but could not reach an agreement”, and Jung Yang-seok, Secretary-General of the People’s Power, said, “It is difficult to find a point of contact even if we discuss more today.” .
After entering into working-level negotiations on the 9th, the two sides were asked about the suitability of candidates by presenting their political party together in a poll questionnaire (the power of the people), and “a question about the competitiveness of Park Young-sun and the Democratic Party candidate regardless of the party name” (National People’s Republic of Korea There has been confrontation over the party). There are many analyzes that the suitability is favorable to the candidate Oh, and the competitiveness is advantageous to the candidate Ahn.
The negotiating team sat face to face on this day with a’compromise plan’. The People’s Power side asks about the competitiveness of Candidate Oh and Candidate A, not Park, but includes 100% of the phone number of the survey target and 10% of the landline phone (home phone) rather than the wireless phone (mobile phone). It was said to have presented. In general, the higher the rate of landline phone reflection is, the higher the reflection of the conservative public sentiment, so this is not a preferred plan by the National Assembly.
The People’s Party is in a position that it is difficult to accept the reflection of fixed-line telephones. Therefore, ① if a virtual confrontation with candidate Park Young-sun was accepted, 10% of fixed-line telephones were reflected. ② Competitiveness + suitability survey was reversed without reflection of fixed-line telephones, but the proposal was not supported by the people.
Polls on the 17th and 18th for unification before the candidate registration date (19th) promised by the two candidates were canceled. However, both sides expressed their willingness to further negotiate in the morning of the 18th, leaving the possibility of a dramatic settlement.
Different counting methods surrounding the unification period
The reason the two sides continue to fight over the rules of the polls is because the understanding of the two sides over the timing of the polls is different. Initially, the people’s strength was the position that’there is nothing urgent’ regarding the unification period. Candidate Oh enjoyed a convention effect (increased approval ratings after a political event) and reflected profits from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) crisis, showing a clear rise.
However, in the TV debate the day before, Ahn persistently digs into the suspicion of Oh’s involvement in the designation of the Bogeumjari housing district in Naegok-dong, raising the sense of fire from the LH crisis. Candidate Oh vehemently denied, referring to’candidate resignation’, but regardless of whether the suspicion is true or not, it is because of the possibility of an angry public sentiment on real estate speculation. Accordingly, some voices say that it is not best to delay the unification schedule even within the party.
On the other hand, the National Assembly urged’unification on the 19th’ as the approval rating of Ahn was stagnating due to the rising trend of candidate Oh. As the unification rule negotiations did not proceed smoothly, Candidate Ahn started to embrace the conservatives by declaring in a TV debate the day before, “Even if there is no single candidate, it is worthy of the people’s strength.” In particular, on the 16th and 17th, he appeared on the conservative YouTube channel three times, expanding the radius of his activity. It is a calculation that he will hold onto the 5060 conservative votes leaning against Candidate Oh.
In the political world, there are many prospects that if the deadline for unification negotiations is delayed, candidate Oh, who is a member of the 1st opposition party with organizational power, will be relatively advantageous. The background is the background of re-emphasizing that there is no reason to rush, saying, “(The election schedule for a single candidate) is not important for a day or two.” Political critic Lee Jong-hoon said, “As the unification negotiations are prolonged, candidate Ahn is very nervous, and that is a variable that can make public opinion unfavorable.” If the unification agreement fails by the 19th, the deadline for registration of candidates, negotiations may continue until 29 days before the printing of the ballot begins.
Jihyun Kim reporter [email protected]
Jaeyeon Park reporter [email protected]
Wondara reporter [email protected]
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