"If the Election Were Tomorrow, People Power Party Might Win Just Two Seats... 'President Yoon Should Remain Quiet,' Warns Daegu's Kwon Young-jin"

[Financial News] Kwon Young-jin, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, warned, "If we vote tomorrow, the nightmare of the 2018 local elections could repeat itself. I feel a sense of crisis," urging the party to change. On the 3rd, he also called on former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who issued a message from prison, to exercise restraint. Kwon, a former mayor of Daegu, represents a constituency considered a stronghold for the People Power Party.
On the 5th, during an interview on CBS Kim Hyun-jung's News Show, Kwon stated, "If we don't change now, we may miss our window of opportunity."
In the 2018 local elections, the Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, suffered a crushing defeat, conceding 14 out of 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial seats to the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), except for the mayors of Daegu and the governor of North Gyeongsang Province. Kwon was one of the two who managed to win at that time.
Kwon recalled, "Some in the party predicted we would win nine seats, but public sentiment was unforgiving. There was no such thing as 'maybe.' Honestly, if we vote tomorrow, I feel the same sense of crisis that the nightmare of 2018 could return."

Kwon, who recently led the apology for the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis, remarked, "From a conservative perspective, it feels as if everything has been handed over to the leftist President Lee Jae-myung. Yoon Suk Yeol should also apologize for this."
Kwon was among the 25 incumbent People Power Party lawmakers who issued a statement of apology on the first anniversary of the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis on the 3rd. On that day, there was no apology message from party leader Jang Dong-hyuk.
In their statement, the first- and second-term lawmakers declared, "The 2024 South Korean martial law crisis was an unconstitutional and anti-democratic act that denied and trampled on the liberal democracy achieved by the Korean people through blood, sweat, and tears. As lawmakers of the then-ruling party, we deeply regret not preventing it in advance and offer our sincere apologies. We promise to sever political ties with Yoon Suk Yeol and other forces that led the martial law crisis. We will pursue party innovation at the level of a complete re-founding."
During the broadcast, Kwon also strongly criticized the prison message released by former President Yoon.
Kwon asserted, "He is the one who brought conservatism to the brink of collapse and made the country unstable and difficult. That is why he was removed from office and is now in prison. Yet he keeps telling those outside to unite and fight to protect liberal democracy and constitutional order. Is that really helpful? In fact, it only serves as a tool to reinforce the insurrection narrative pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and leftist groups. He should remain quiet and reflect on his actions."
He also discussed internal party sentiment regarding these issues.
Kwon reported, "Nearly two-thirds believe an apology is necessary, and about half think the party should sever ties with former President Yoon."
Addressing criticism that party leader Jang Dong-hyuk only represents the hardline 'asphalt' supporters, Kwon said, "He seems to think that distancing from them would destroy our support base, but that's not true. It's a misconception. I feel that Jang is somewhat captive to that group, and on the other hand, he seems to believe there is no centrist bloc."
He added, "If things continue as they are, we will lose the election and our party will collapse. In that case, the person most affected will be Jang Dong-hyuk. Confronting the leader won't solve the problem. We will continue to communicate and persuade going forward."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter