Tag: politics

Lee Jae-myung is using the current war in Ukraine to claim the same thing can happen in Korea if Yoon Suk-yeol is elected:

Rival presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) clashed over their differing views of the lessons of Russia’s attack on Ukraine during their TV debate, Friday. The DPK’s Lee Jae-myung stressed a leader’s diplomatic capability, while the PPP’s Yoon Suk-yeol highlighted military deterrence to facilitate peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

“A novice politician who only has six months of political experience became the country’s leader and caused a major clash by inciting Russia with a hasty promise of Ukraine’s NATO admission,” Lee said of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was an actor and comedian before he was elected as the country’s leader in April 2019. 

“This is an example of a diplomatic failure. Yoon is too aggressive and rough in his diplomatic remarks, such as his pledge to establish South Korea’s capability to launch preemptive strikes (against North Korea).”

Lee’s comment came after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Sunday. Along with international condemnation of Russia’s moves, criticism is also mounting over Zelenskyy’s diplomatic miscalculation, which is being blamed for steering his country towards a clash with Russia.

Yonhap

Here is how Yoon responded to Lee’s remarks which criticized his attempts to sign an end of war declaration with North Korea:

On the other hand, PPP candidate Yoon criticized Ukraine’s reliance on diplomatic agreements to maintain peace and emphasized the importance of military power and strong alliances to guarantee national security.

“You can only prevent war when you have the capability for preemptive strikes and have the intent to do so … I believe the case of Ukraine shows that you cannot protect national security and peace with paper and ink,” Yoon said, referring to the Minsk agreements or a series of pacts that sought to end fighting with Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

“Candidate Lee and the current DPK administration stress the importance of an end-of-war declaration with North Korea, which will be done only on paper with ink. With North Korea refusing to give up its nuclear program, pushing forward the end-of-war declaration is the same as the case of Ukraine.” 

You can read more at the link, but if Yoon really wanted to hit Lee even harder he should of mentioned how Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees back in the 1990’s. Look how that paper and ink agreement worked out for them. Does anyone really think that North Korea will abide by any paper and ink agreement as well?

You can tell the election is getting close considering the harsher rhetoric being used on the campaign trail:

“Why on Earth is the city of Ulsan seeing a renewable energy-based wind power project being erected which fishermen and other citizens had opposed it?” the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) candidate said during his speech on Saturday. “I think you all know who will benefit from the project by getting orders for the project’s construction. I can tell you that none of those who oppose the DPK’s doctrines or who are not the party’s core supporters will get a piece of the pie from the project.”

Yoon’s harsh rhetoric against the DPK in his Saturday speech also targeted Lee’s alleged involvement in a controversial urban development project in Seongnam’s Daejang-dong, a case that has persisted for months without prosecutors having proven the allegations. “Think about Daejang-dong. Can’t you people smell something rotten from all the way over here? We must excommunicate the core members of the DPK who elected the evident suspect as their presidential candidate.”  (…..)

The project, approved under the Moon Jae-in administration, is part of the central government’s bid to build 11 wind turbines with a total capacity of 3.9 gigawatts in the waters flanking Ulsan, Busan and other cities in South Gyeongsang Province. The construction of the facility has been joined by a consortium of 10 firms. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the ROK presidential election:

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People’s Party said Sunday he is dropping his offer to merge campaigns with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and will finish the presidential race on his own.

The decision is expected to add to uncertainties in the already tight race in which Yoon and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) have been running neck and neck at around 40 percent support each, with Ahn at around 10 percent support.

Ahn’s announcement came a week after he proposed the merger with Yoon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), saying the two sides should field a single candidate to ensure a victory over Lee in the March 9 election.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I think Yoon probably decided he didn’t need Ahn because he is currently ahead by 5% points over Lee Jae-myung in recent polling.

It looks like Yoon Suk-yeol’s comments about investigating the Moon Jae-in administration if elected had the desired effect of giving him a slight bounce in the polls:

A latest poll showed that the gap between the two leading presidential candidates Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung has shrunk since Yoon’s remarks that he will go after corruption allegations of the Moon Jae-in administration if he wins the March 9 election.    
   
According to the survey released by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) on Monday, Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) scored 43.5 percent and Lee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) scored 40.4 percent. Compared to the previous week, Lee’s rating went up by 2 percentage points, while Yoon’s dropped by 1.1 percentage points, narrowing the two candidates’ gap from 6.2 percentage points last week to 3.1 percentage points this week.  
   
The latest poll was conducted on Friday and Saturday, shortly after an emotional quarrel between Yoon and President Moon Jae-in. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

This would be quite the odd couple if they do decide to combine their campaigns:

Minor presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo officially proposed merging candidacies with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday to ensure an “overwhelming victory” against the governing party.

Ahn of the centrist People’s Party also proposed selecting a unified candidate between the two through opinion polls, just like he unified candidacies with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Yoon’s People Power Party ahead of last year’s local by-elections.

“Winning is important, but in order to overcome the current crisis and carry out future-oriented reform tasks, there should be an overwhelming victory amid people’s trust. This can’t be done by any single person alone,” Ahn said during a press conference held via YouTube.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering the Blue House’s very strong response to Yoon’s comments I think it is an indication they are worried about being investigated if he does win the Presidency:

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday demanded an apology from main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol for remarks that he will launch a probe into alleged corruption of the current administration if he is elected. 

Moon expressed “strong resentment” over Yoon’s remarks and criticized the candidate for attacking the current administration with “groundless” allegations, according to Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication.

It was rare for Moon to directly respond to remarks by Yoon. To maintain political neutrality ahead of the March vote, the presidential office has kept a low profile over allegations raised by Yoon or other presidential candidates. 

Yoon made the remark in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo daily published Wednesday, saying he will launch an investigation into “deep-rooted evils” of the Moon Jae-in administration if he wins the March 9 presidential election.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Yoon is clearly trying to rally the conservative base before the election that is upset that the Moon administration jailed the two former conservative Presidents. For the good of the country though Yoon if elected needs to stop the political prosecution of former Presidents.

The fact that Yoon Suk-yeol is joining in to namedrop for President Roh Moo-hyun could be interpreted that he is getting desperate because I can’t image Roh supporters voting for a conservative candidate:

Ahn also stressed his connection with Roh, saying the former president’s first legislative constituency was in Busan, Ahn’s hometown, and he was one of eight civilians invited to Roh’s inauguration ceremony. 

His remarks came after his main rivals Lee Jae-myung of the DPK and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) namedropped the late president. 

On Sunday, Lee visited Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, where Roh is buried. While paying tribute to the former president, the former Gyeonggi Province governor got emotional at one point. 

“To establish the world where human beings live is a dream of Roh Moo-hyun, (President Moon Jae-in) and Lee Jae-myung,” he said during the visit. 

Lee also wrote in a guestbook that he will build a world without foul play or privilege.

On Saturday, Yoon paid a visit to a naval base on Jeju Island, a project launched by Roh that faced a strong backlash from residents and activists as well as his supporters, who feared that the base could set off a regional arms race and damage the island’s environment. The construction of the Jeju base was completed in 2016.

Praising Roh’s decision to build the naval base to bolster self-reliance in national defense, Yoon also got emotional, saying that he has Roh’s agony and determination engraved in his heart. Yoon paused for a moment to compose himself. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but ROK Heads likely remember that President Roh was elected on a platform that included anti-Americanism, often clashed with the former Bush administration, and was pro-North Korea. Considering all the money Roh allowed to be funneled into North Korea it is arguable that Roh could be considered the father of the North Korean nuclear bomb.

Roh often claimed how he wasn’t corrupt, but after his presidency he committed suicide to protect corrupt family members. Former President Lee Myung-bak is still jailed because he was the one that launched the investigation into Roh’s family that uncovered the corruption that led to his suicide. The Korean left never forgot and once President Moon was elected, investigations were opened to go after Lee and imprison him.

How Yoon Suk-yeol thinks he will get votes from the group of people that still support Roh is beyond me.