Home > Opinion > Columns

PPP faces criticism for running a 'pro-Lee Jae-myung primary'

Published: 16 Apr. 2025, 00:04

Ahn Hai-ri

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

When former President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to his private residence in Seocho District on April 11, he told a neighbor, “Don’t worry, I came back after winning everything.” The comment has since sparked disbelief across Korea’s political spectrum, particularly within the conservative People Power Party (PPP), which faces the fallout of Yoon’s impeachment over his attempt to declare martial law.

His remark, given the context, was jarring. It came after a Constitutional Court ruling that found his emergency decree unlawful, triggering his removal from office. The decision has plunged the PPP into an existential crisis, and yet Yoon appeared unfazed, leaving many to question just what he believed he had "won."

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol greets supporters as he exits the Hannam-dong presidential residence in Yongsan District in central Seoul on the April 11. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The deeper issue, critics argue, lies in Yoon's misunderstanding of the presidency. The office is not the prize of partisan victory, but a position entrusted to lead the nation, prioritize public well-being and uphold democratic norms. However, Yoon’s actions and words paint a different picture. Rather than express remorse or responsibility for the chaos and divisions wrought by his declaration of martial law, he appeared defiant —as if returning triumphant from a successful mission rather than a failed presidency.

What stands out even more is Yoon’s apparent lack of regret. Instead of bowing his head before the nation he once led, he has continued to speak with the swagger of a political brawler, not a former head of state. This conduct has triggered a broader reflection on how such a figure came to hold the nation’s highest office.

The answer, many suggest, lies in the dynamics of Korea’s last presidential election. At the heart of Yoon’s rise was not his vision or competence, but a potent “anti-Lee Jae-myung” sentiment. Lee, now the Democratic Party’s (DP) leading presidential contender once again, evoked deep distrust among both conservatives and sections of the progressive base aligned with the former Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations. That fear forged unlikely alliances and led many to support Yoon as a lesser evil.

Former conservative People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon, announces his bid for the presidential race in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 10. [YONHAP]

But once elected, Yoon lacked the qualities expected of a national leader — strategic foresight, crisis management and the moral compass needed to navigate complex domestic and international challenges. His recent comment, “Whether it’s five years or three, it’s all the same,” laid bare his view of the presidency as a personal milestone rather than a service-oriented mission.

His approach to governance, critics argue, was never about long-term nation-building. It was about enjoying the peak of power. That notion was confirmed in January, just before his arrest as a sitting president — the first in Korea’s history — when he reportedly told loyal PPP Reps. Na Kyung-won and Yoon Sang-hyun, “I’ve already been president. I have no more goals.”

What’s more alarming to some observers is that several of the PPP’s newly declared presidential hopefuls appear to be echoing Yoon’s playbook. Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who entered the race on April 14, warned that the current primary process is recycling the same flaws that led to Yoon’s downfall. Rather than articulating concrete policy visions or offering contrition for past missteps, many candidates are doubling down on anti-Lee rhetoric in the hopes of riding that sentiment to victory.

One candidate, Kim Moon-soo, who served as Yoon's final labor minister, declared himself to be“a clean man with nothing to hide," and therefore "is the best match against the criminal Lee Jae-myung.” Another, Rep. Na Kyung-won, claimed, “I am the only candidate who can save the country from the dangerous Lee Jae-myung.” Hong himself characterized the next election as a battle between “Lee Jae-myung, the defendant with a long criminal record,” and himself.

Even former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who supported Yoon’s impeachment, mentioned Lee’s name eight times during his announcement, suggesting that his campaign, too, hinges on opposing the DP's standard-bearer.

This repetition of a negative campaign strategy — anchored entirely in stopping Lee — risks alienating voters who once reluctantly supported Yoon. In 2022, many cast their ballots not in favor of Yoon but to block Lee. But after the disappointment of the Yoon presidency, the public may no longer be persuaded by the promise of “anyone but Lee.”

Now former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo departs city hall after his resignation ceremony on April 11. City government officials and employees bid farewell to Hong who is running for presidency. [NEWS1]

The current field of conservative contenders, critics say, lacks vision. Their declarations are filled with resentment, personal ambition and recycled slogans — absent are apologies for past governance failures, blueprints for Korea’s future or evidence of lessons learned. That the upcoming election, triggered by Yoon’s impeachment, is being treated by some candidates as a career opportunity rather than a national reckoning underscores the PPP’s struggle to renew itself.

If the conservative party continues to focus solely on defeating Lee without presenting credible alternatives, it risks turning its primary into a process that inadvertently assists his return. Whether intentional or not, this has led some to describe the PPP’s current trajectory as a search not for the next leader of the country, but for the next “helper of Lee Jae-myung.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.