Rising approval ratings for the opposition... Jeong Jeom-sik says, "It didn't go up because we did well; it's a call for reform"

[Financial News] People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said on the 22nd that the party's recent rise in approval ratings was "not because we did well," but rather a "call for reform to boldly reinvent ourselves as a capable conservative party." On the party's internal split over the future of leader Jang Dong-hyuk, he stressed that it must move toward the future rather than remain tied to the past.
At the Supreme Council meeting held that day at the National Assembly, Jeong said, "The June 3 local elections were not a victory for the ruling party or the opposition, but a victory for the wise people."
He added, "The public delivered a sharp warning to the arrogance and unilateral rule of the ruling party in its first year in power. At the same time, they laid the groundwork for the opposition to rise again and called for deep reflection and reform."
On the falling approval rating of the Democratic Party of Korea, he said it was a "command to confront an arrogant administration that tramples on public sentiment and becomes absorbed in a power struggle after the election, and to fight for truth-finding in the June 3 voter rights violation incident and reform of the election management system."
Jeong said, "We must once again move forward with humility," adding, "We do not have time to dwell on the past and argue over who did well or who did wrong, or to fight over credit and responsibility."
He continued, "We must humbly accept the public sentiment reflected in the local elections, fill in our shortcomings, and prepare for victory in the general election two years from now. Above all, we must reflect the will of the people in the party's direction. To develop policies for the people and the future, and to make them a regular part of our work, we need to build a system that reflects public opinion more quickly, accurately, and transparently in party operations, legislative issues, and policy lines."
Jeong added, "If we do not change, we cannot survive," and said, "We will be reborn as a healthy and capable conservative party that can read changing trends, and in the National Assembly, we will become a nimble opposition party that overcomes our numerical disadvantage through the agile movement of our 110 lawmakers."
Meanwhile, the People Power Party has been on an upward trend in approval ratings since the local elections. It has begun to surpass the Democratic Party of Korea by more than the margin of error.
According to a Realmeter survey released on the 22nd, a party approval poll conducted on 1,001 voters aged 18 and older nationwide on the 18th and 19th showed the Democratic Party of Korea at 40.1 percent and the People Power Party at 42.3 percent.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, and the response rate was 3.3 percent. For more details, see the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram Reporter