Amid the presidential election scheduled for June 3 following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, conservative elders met with the leadership of the People Power Party on the 9th and requested, "Please select a candidate who can unite and prevent the reckless advance of Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party."

Kwon Young-se, the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson of the People Power Party (second from left), is giving a speech at the meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee held at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, on Nov. 9. /Courtesy of News1

The leadership of the People Power Party and 14 members of the party's senior advisory group held a luncheon meeting at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, that afternoon. This was the first gathering since the transition to an early presidential election system. It is said that discussions included requests regarding the presidential election process and demands for party reform.

Senior spokesperson Shin Dong-wook met with reporters after the luncheon and noted, "The senior advisory group agrees that South Korea is facing a dire crisis both domestically and internationally, and we urge the People Power Party to approach the presidential election with serious reflection and thorough reform."

In particular, regarding the early presidential election, he stated, "We must select a candidate whom the people can unite behind to prevent the reckless advance of Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party so that South Korea's future does not regress further."

Regarding the emergence of more than 10 potential presidential candidates, he said, "There is a concern that with so many candidates, the primary process might become chaotic, so I hope the party can maintain a fair and transparent primary to prevent any appearance of division."

At the luncheon, there were opinions that the primary election method should adopt a 100% public primary so that individuals from both inside and outside the party can participate, and that measures and plans should be established to allay concerns about early voting.

Senior spokesperson Shin stated, "Some suggested that we should not only look for candidates within the party but open the voting pool to the public through a 100% public primary, allowing anyone to join the big tent and become a candidate." He added, "In response, Chairman Hwang Woo-yeo of the election commission explained that changing the rules of the primary is not an easy situation as the primary schedule is too tight."

There were also opinions at the closed luncheon that Han Duck-soo, the acting Prime Minister, should be recruited. Senior spokesperson Shin mentioned, "There were some who said it would be good if Acting Prime Minister Han participated in this primary, and more people felt it was necessary."

However, some expressed concern over the speculation of recruiting Acting Prime Minister Han. Jeong Ui-hwa, the chairman of the senior advisory group, said, "While running for president is a personal freedom, I worry about whether the public will view favorably the appearance of more than 10 individuals proclaiming their intentions to become president and the willingness to accept the recruitment of an acting president."

The senior advisory group emphasized the need for thorough self-reflection and introspection by the party. Chairman Jeong expressed during the meeting's public remarks, "All of us in the party's senior advisory group, including myself, feel a deep sense of responsibility, and we have no face to meet with the public. We can only ask for forgiveness." He further asserted, "What the public desires is thorough self-reflection and sincere contemplation regarding the direction we need to take moving forward."