These days, there are many people telling us not to talk about politics when we meet family and friends during the holidays. It also means that our politics has divided the people to that extent. However, paradoxically, public sentiment during the holidays is very important from the political perspective. Let’s take a look at the hot topics in politics this holiday season with political reporter Seo Ju-min.
Reporter Seo, the hottest topic is probably the issue of CEO Lee Jae-myung, right? How will the public view it?
[Reporter]
That’s right. Looking at the results alone, the ruling party seems to have accepted the ‘worst case scenario’. As the arrest motion was passed, the Democratic Party broke away from its bulletproof framework, and even the arrest warrant for Representative Lee was dismissed, leading to a situation where it was counterattacked for an ‘unreasonable investigation.’ However, it is not necessarily the ‘best scenario’ for the Democratic Party.
[Anchor]
Why?
[Reporter]
It is true that the Democratic Party has faced a turning point. If Representative Lee himself had asked for the arrest motion to be passed without going back on his promise to waive his non-arrest privileges, he would have been in the best case scenario. If he had gone out on his own and been dismissed in the warrant review, Representative Lee would have gained a political asset called trust, and there would have been less justification for opposition from non-members. However, the internal strife that arose due to Representative Lee’s appeal for rejection, and the violent and undemocratic behavior of polarized supporters shown in the process, must have made moderates question whether it is really a good party to support.
[Anchor] [Reporter]
If we only look at the political gains and losses right메이저사이트 now, it can be seen as a draw, right?
That’s right. Therefore, the by-election for the head of Gangseo-gu in Seoul, which will be held next week after the holidays, can be an indicator of the current state of public sentiment in the metropolitan area before the general election.
[Anchor]
Isn’t this a sight we’ve never seen before, with the ruling and opposition party leaders being mobilized like this for the district mayor election?
[Reporter]
That’s right. Gangseo-gu, Seoul is traditionally considered a Democratic Party-dominant area. As we reported earlier, candidate Kim Tae-woo was elected mayor of Gangseo-gu last year, right after the presidential election, for the first time in 15 years as a ruling party candidate, but with a narrow margin of about 2% points. President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was in the early stages of his term, had an approval rating of 53% at the time. But now it has dropped to 32%. Although it is an election for only one head of a basic organization, the changed political landscape is also one of the factors that will affect the situation as it has become a battle between ‘Yunsim’ and ‘Lee Shim’ and conservatives and progressives. However, in terms of awareness among the candidates, candidate Kim Tae-woo is evaluated to be ahead of them all.
[Anchor]
Could it be said that the losing side will be hit hard and that the general election strategy needs to be completely revised?
[reporter]
That’s very likely. In particular, the ruling party is already under psychological pressure after Representative Lee’s warrant was rejected. It is also true that many of the People Power Party leadership had constituencies in Yeongnam, so they were relatively insensitive to public sentiment in the metropolitan area. There are many evaluations that he failed to come up with a single representative policy while enjoying the benefits of Representative Lee’s judicial risk. So, if they lose the by-election, the theory of a crisis in the metropolitan area, which the leadership has denied, will come to the fore again, and calls for a re-establishment of the relationship between the President’s Office and the ruling party will grow louder. On the other hand, if the Democratic Party loses, it is highly likely that calls for Representative Lee Jae-myung’s resignation will erupt again.