Another president gone: history repeats itself for South Korea's conservative party

This picture shows former President Yoon Suk Yeol's face on a large banner at a pro-Yoon rally on Friday. Im Se-jun for The Korea Herald
This picture shows former President Yoon Suk Yeol's face on a large banner at a pro-Yoon rally on Friday. Im Se-jun for The Korea Herald

Friday marked a solemn chapter for the People Power Party. Another conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was expelled from office with the Constitutional Court ruling 8-0 in favor of his removal. The main conservative party had been down this road before when President Park Geun-hye was removed in a unanimous Constitutional Court ruling in 2017. Now, the People Power Party is tasked with mapping its path forward as a post-Yoon party.

At a meeting of all 108 People Power Party lawmakers on Sunday, the message was clear from Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the party's floor leader: Yoon's downfall cannot be the party's. "The presidential election is in two months. We don't have much time, but we cannot back down. We cannot afford to lose," Kweon said.

The challenge for the People Power Party is how to move on from the disgraced president without offending the party's loud fringe of hardline Yoon supporters. While the handful of remaining pro-Yoon lawmakers -- including Reps. Na Kyung-won and Yoon Sang-hyun -- came to the president's defense until the day of the final verdict, the People Power Party leadership has been careful not to take a side.

The former president, in his first written message since leaving office, unveiled by his legal representatives on Sunday, thanked his supporters. "Although I have stepped down from the presidency, I will always stand by your side," Yoon said. He made no acknowledgment of the court's ruling ousting him.

Yoon met with the People Power Party leaders late Friday, after he was formally removed from office, and told them that he hoped for a conservative victory in the coming election, according to the party's chief spokesperson Rep. Shin Dong-uk.

Like in 2017, recent polls suggest the rival Democratic Party of Korea is likely to win the coming election. The Democratic Party's leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung is currently ahead of other potential contenders, both conservative and liberal, but he is also the most "unlikable" candidate, according to some surveys.

The People Power Party is already campaigning on Lee's legal troubles, claiming they make him unfit to be president. The verdict on an appeal in one of Lee's five criminal cases is due early June, which could coincide with Election Day.

"At the end of the day, we can't let Lee Jae-myung, with all of his criminal cases and extremism, take charge of this country," a People Power Party lawmaker told The Korea Herald.


arin@heraldcorp.com