PPP bigwigs quietly weigh election odds even while voicing support for Yoon

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PPP bigwigs quietly weigh election odds even while voicing support for Yoon

Published: 20 Feb. 2025, 18:10 Updated: 20 Feb. 2025, 19:33

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

From third from left, front row: Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun, Na Kyung-won and Kim Gi-hyeon stand alongside 37 other lawmakers from the People Power Party in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, where they lodged a complaint against the justices' management of President Yoon Suk Yeol's ongoing impeachment trial on Feb. 17. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

As the Constitutional Court’s final ruling in President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment case nears, many conservative People Power Party (PPP) heavyweights are waiting in the shadows and preparing for a potential early presidential election, even as they continue outward displays of support for their beleaguered chief.

“Mentioning an early presidential election is practically forbidden, but to be frank, almost everyone talks about it in gatherings in the evening,” ex-lawmaker Shin Ji-ho, a key ally of former PPP chief Han Dong-hoon, said in a radio interview on Tuesday.

“They have different plans depending on the time of day. During the day, it’s Plan A — fighting for the rejection of impeachment. But at night, it’s Plan B — strategizing for an early presidential election.”

On Monday afternoon, around 40 PPP lawmakers visited the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, protesting the court’s “unfairness” and demanding that Yoon be given the right to defend himself.

PPP Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon claimed that the Constitutional Court had “deprived the president of his constitutional right to participate in witness questioning.” PPP Rep. Na Kyung-won said the court was “effectively paralyzing state affairs.”

Many lawmakers who visited the court on Monday are strong opponents of Yoon’s impeachment. They were also among those who gathered at the presidential residence to prevent his arrest.

For them, open discussions about an early presidential election — an outcome that assumes Yoon’s impeachment is upheld — are practically verboten.

However, according to multiple PPP sources, lawmakers have discreetly prepared for the possibility.

“We need to pay attention to five-term lawmakers from the anti-impeachment camp — Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, Rep. Na Kyung-won and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun — as potential presidential candidates,” a lawmaker told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on condition of anonymity.

President Yoon Suk Yeol sits in the main chamber of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, during his impeachment trial hearing on Jan. 21. [NEWS1]

The lawmaker noted numerous presidential hopefuls among those who support impeachment, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, former PPP leader Han, ex-PPP Rep. Yoo Seung-min and PPP Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo. However, the lawmaker said fewer potential candidates were among those opposing impeachment, such as Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo.

“The more they oppose impeachment, the more effectively they can strengthen their standing among supporters,” the lawmaker added, suggesting that candidates could leverage both their opposition to impeachment and the backing of party loyalists.

For that reason, North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo and former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong — both vocal opponents of impeachment — are also being considered as potential candidates.

Ironically, many political heavyweights now opposed to impeachment were previously seen distancing themselves from Yoon. However, since the president declared martial law on Dec. 3, they have actively rallied around him — rushing to his official residence early in the morning to block investigators from arresting him last month and visiting him in custody at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi.

Within the conservative parties, some have positively viewed such actions, saying they "set aside their grievances and stood by the president."

As early campaigning begins behind the scenes, alliances and endorsements have become sensitive issues.

One conservative politician recently suspected that a PPP heavyweight had decided to back Seoul Mayor Oh after noticing that the lawmaker had been added to a group chat believed to support the mayor’s potential campaign. However, it was later revealed that the lawmaker had been added randomly and was unaware of the chat’s purpose.

The PPP heavyweight opposed Yoon's impeachment, whereas Oh supported it.

“I am not someone who would be swayed so easily,” the lawmaker said.

Lawmakers have also resumed political dinners and meetings, reversing their previous hesitancy to hold such gatherings after the short-lived imposition of martial law.

A prominent PPP figure who attended several gatherings with lawmakers from the Yeongnam region, otherwise known as South and North Gyeongsang, said that while most attendees opposed impeachment, they agreed that the party should be prepared for a potential presidential election.

However, he added that lawmakers remain hesitant to declare whom they support publicly.

People Power Party lawmakers, including Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, center, block the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol as investigators make a second attempt to execute a warrant to detain him at the presidential residence in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Jan. 15. [NEWS1]

The same discussions are taking place among lawmakers' aides.

“If a presidential election is held early, the campaign preparation time will be extremely short,” said an aide to a PPP lawmaker from the Yeongnam region.

“Aides are discussing whether certain candidates have already formed secret campaign teams and how they should position themselves to avoid being sidelined.”

Meanwhile, the presidential office in Yongsan is closely monitoring political maneuvering within the National Assembly.

“I don’t like conservative politicians who actively support the impeachment,” an official aligned with Yoon said. “But if the president is impeached, who is best positioned to compete against Lee Jae-myung?”

Some high-profile conservative figures have already begun making strategic moves.

Former PPP leader Han — who resigned following the passage of Yoon’s impeachment motion — is expected to make official moves after releasing his book later this month.

Rumors have also surfaced that 30 to 40 lawmakers have thrown their support behind Daegu Mayor Hong.

On Feb. 12, some 50 conservative lawmakers gathered as Mayor Oh attended a debate on constitutional reform at the National Assembly hosted by the Seoul city government.

Despite the unofficial primary race effectively beginning, PPP lawmakers remain cautious.

“In a situation where we should be assessing who the strongest candidate is, there’s no need to be labeled someone’s supporter too early,” a lawmaker from the Yeongnam region said.

BY KIM KI-JEONG, JANG SEO-YUN AND CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]