Former four-term conservative lawmaker Yoo Seong-min declared Sunday he would opt out of the presidential primaries with the conservative People Power Party — with which impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol is affiliated — leaving him the option to run for president as an independent candidate or with another political party.
Yoo, considered a center-right figure, blasted the conservative party for "refusing to feel remorseful and start anew," even after the party had a second president impeached in less than a decade. Before Yoon's ouster in April, former President Park Geun-hye was also affiliated with the party when she was impeached in March 2017 for a corruption scandal involving her confidante Choi Seo-won, formerly known as Choi Soon-sil.
"(The People Power Party) is far from being desperate. ... I feel outraged as they presume a loss in the upcoming presidential election and (those declaring their presidential run) instead appear obsessed with power (within the party)" Yoo said in his Facebook post.
"I'm astonished as the conservatives are failing to embrace centrists, rather, their realm is shrinking," he added.
Some conservative presidential hopefuls such as Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo expressed sympathy with Yoo's remarks, but said they would move on to participate in the People Power Party's candidate nomination process.
Yoo's four terms as a lawmaker spanned 2004 to 2020.
Previously, he expressed presidential bids in 2017 and 2022. In 2017, Yoo represented the Bareun Party, a spinoff from a major conservative party that split after former President Park's impeachment. However, he won only 6.8 percent of the popular votes, far behind then President-elect Moon Jae-in's 41.1 percent. Yoo dropped out in the 2022 presidential race for the party.
In the latest poll by Gallup Korea Friday, Yoo's popularity stood at 1 percent. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former chair of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, led the poll with a popularity of 39 percent, followed by former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo (9 percent) and former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo (5 percent).
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