Pathetic fights within the preparatory committee for the elections of Yoon Suk-yeol: the DONG-A ILBO

Two months away from the 20th presidential election, the struggles within the election preparation committee of People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol degenerated. After Lee Jun-seok ordered the press team to react swiftly to media reports at the central election preparatory committee meeting on Monday, the head of the press team, Cho Soo-jin, said that ‘she was only listening to Yoon. Even after apologizing immediately after the meeting, Cho sent a YouTube video criticizing Lee to a few reporters. Lee resigned from all positions on the pre-election committee, saying he was speechless after an apology that meant nothing. The chaos of the leadership of the election preparatory committee has been exposed and party members are shocked by an unprecedented development.

The situation clearly shows a complete disorganization within Yoon’s election preparatory committee that goes beyond personal conflicts between Lee and Cho. The launch of the election preparatory committee was delayed for more than a month as Yoon, general chairman of the election preparatory committee Kim Chong-in, and Lee argued over who will take the leadership of the committee. As the committee got up and running, it seemed like the disorganization was resolved. However, there have been numerous comments that the committee is split between groups led by Yoon, Kim Chong-in and Kim Han-gil. The age-old politics of factions seem to have returned. While such divisions remain unresolved, an unfathomable situation has developed within the presidential election preparatory committee which is expected to put all its efforts into the campaign.

Yoon’s Election Preparatory Committee grew massive as people flocked for awards after the presidential election. Even internal members blame themselves for having more frequent meetings without substance without proper coordination of functions and roles. The age-old disease of the “welfare party”, in which people settle for vested interests and compete for positions based on the public’s desire for a new government.

Yoon cannot avoid criticism for his easy response to the situation. At the start of the incident, he said that is what democracy is about the conflict between Lee and Cho. He belatedly approached Cho to apologize to Lee, but that didn’t stop Lee from resigning. Active discussions regarding vision, policies and strategies are needed within its Election Preparatory Committee. However, it shouldn’t be a chaotic situation where members are just voicing their opinions. Yoon should be directly involved in coordinating and resolving if there are any operational issues with the order and functions of the Election Preparatory Committee, which is expected to serve as the leadership team of the presidential campaign.