Kingmaker Kim Chong-in returns to helm splinter party's nomination committee

General election 2024

Published: 26 Feb. 2024, 17:26 Updated: 26 Feb. 2024, 17:51

Kingmaker Kim Chong-in returns to helm splinter party's nomination committee

Veteran politician Kim Chong-in, center, dubbed “kingmaker” for his election engineering experience, receives an orange party jacket from leader Lee Jun-seok, right, during a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Monday. He was named as the party’s new nomination committee chief ahead of the April 10 general elections last Friday. [NEWS1]

So-called kingmaker Kim Chong-in returned to the political scene as he was named chief of the nomination committee of the new splinter party led by former People Power Party (PPP) chief Lee Jun-seok.

The 83-year-old political heavyweight has supported both liberals and conservatives and is known for his acumen in engineering elections and leading presidential candidates to victory.

In a supreme council meeting Friday, Kim was appointed as the nomination chief of Lee's New Reform Party ahead of the April 10 general elections.

Kim, who has previously served as both leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and interim chief of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), had a role overseeing President Yoon Suk Yeol's election campaign committee in 2022.

Kim was brought on board to oversee the New Reform Party nominations just three days after a merger between Lee Jun-seok and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon fell apart, crushing hopes of a so-called "big tent" party bringing together conservative and liberal political figures opposed to the two major mainstream parties. The two leaders decided to head their ways, with former DP chief Lee Nak-yon returning to helming the New Future Party, another splinter party.

Lee Jun-seok, who was ousted as PPP chief in 2022 over sexual bribery allegations, has often clashed with the pro-Yoon faction within the PPP. He defected from the PPP last month to form his own minor political party, though hopes of a merger with Lee Nak-yon fell apart as the two sides clashed over who holds authority over the party's election campaign and policies.

In Friday's supreme council meeting, Lee Jun-seok highlighted that Kim was "entrusted with the big role of managing election nominations" to lead the party to victory.

"We will discover great talent through Chairman Kim and swiftly work on nominations," Lee said.

Kim is Lee's longtime political mentor but hesitated to join his new party. He was, however, reportedly persuaded by Keum Tae-sup, a supreme council member of the New Reform Party, and others.

This is the fourth time Kim, a former lawmaker, has been summoned to strategize ahead of a major election.

Kim is considered the key strategist behind Park Geun-hye's 2012 presidential victory and the DP's 2016 general election victory.

In 2020, he served as the chairman of the general election committee of the conservative United Future Party, also a predecessor of the PPP, but ultimately was defeated in the general elections by the DP.

Kim was brought on to helm Yoon's election campaign committee ahead of the 2022 presidential election, though he was edged out by members of the PPP considered key aides to Yoon, who had a different vision of how to run the campaign.

New Reform Party members hope that Kim could be the much-needed variable to breathe life into the otherwise stagnant party.

According to the results of a public opinion poll released by Gallup Korea on Friday, after conducting telephone interviews last Tuesday and Wednesday, the approval rating for the New Reform Party was only 3 percent.

This was down 1 percentage point from the survey released on Feb. 16, where approval came at 4 percent, boosted by the surprise merger with the New Future Party.

Before the merger, public support was at around 3 percent in a poll conducted in the first week of February.

Kim, as the new election nomination chief, told reporters after a supreme council meeting on Monday that the party aims to secure more than 20 seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

"We will, in principle, nominate people without defects," he said on potential election candidates, adding that the process "will not take that long because the party does not have abundant human resources."

"We have no choice but to try to create a minimum negotiating group," Kim said, addressing the lack of manpower within the party. Likewise, he said he won't dwell on the party's low approval ratings.

The party on Monday decided to appoint six members to the nomination committee headed by Kim, including dermatologist Dr. Ham Ik-byeong.

In a CBS radio interview later Monday, Kim said that it would be advantageous for Lee Jun-seok to run in the TK region, referring to the conservative stronghold of Daegu and North Gyeongsang.

"The TK region is the most advantageous area for Lee Jun-seok to make a comeback," Kim said. "It is not only Chairman Lee's hometown, but also a place with a strong conservative tendency," calling to "appeal to and nurture political newcomers."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]