South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye Pt.2

SPEAKER_1 (0:30)

A lot of other wannabes jockeying for position. What is the landscape going to take? What are some of the uncertain variables that we have coming forward? Let's go ahead and get more analysis. Once again, joining us here in the studio, Dr. Kim Ji-hoon and Professor Hwang Jung-wook. Professor Hwang first, pardon party. They were, they had some interesting strategies. They were the only party that said, if this ruling is overruled, we are all gonna step down.

It might have been just sort of a symbolic show, because I suppose the National Assembly Speaker could have just denied that, right? But they basically, I suppose, played a game of chicken or kind of Russian roulette, and they ended up on the right side of that. And their chairman, Jung Byung-wook, resigning, stepping down, basically saying, he's fulfilled what he's wanted to do. Again, I asked this with Dr. Kim, what does the pardon party do now? I mean, are they the de facto conservative party at this point?

Hwang Jung-wook (1:32)

Well, the recent trend line has been very bad for them. I mean, their party approval rating as well as approval ratings for their front runners like Nam Kyung-pil and Yoo Seung-min have been pretty dismal. So I'm not really sure that they have within themselves to basically vault themselves into some kind of front runner status. I think they will need to ally themselves with some kind of external power, be it Kim Jong-in or Ahn Cheol-soo. I have no idea. I think machinations are probably taking place as we speak, to which I have no insider knowledge. But I'm sure they're looking for some kind of breakthrough. And at this point, it doesn't look like it's going to come from within themselves.

SPEAKER_1 (2:11)

There's been calls that there's, if you look at the 56, I think, alleged that the Senority Party members who voted for impeachment, only half of them have left to form the party. So they're still in the Liberty Korea Party. So there's a kind of school of thought. What are you guys still doing there? She's impeached now. I mean, you guys have to go somewhere. It's kind of ridiculous that you're still staying in the party that this president's still a member of, technically speaking.

So Professor Hwang mentioned Kim Jong-in. And that was, of course, a pretty big political story a couple days ago. Him deciding to leave the Democratic Party, he's also going to have to forego his proportional representative seat because you can't be holding that seat if you're not a member of that party. I think there are some people in the Democratic Party who are, to be frank, are saying good riddance. Like you guys, you've been more critical of the front-runner here than even like other rival party members. But the question of can he do what Ban Ki-moon failed to do, which is form this, be the pole in this so-called big tent coalition, whether it involves Kim Woo-sung, whether it involves Jung Hoon-chang, whether it involves members of Koo-min, the People's Party. How do you think Kim Jong-un is going to approach this?

Kim Ji-yoon (3:26)

Well, I don't really think he... I mean, he used to be called the kingmaker.

SPEAKER_1 (3:31)

Right. But he says no longer, right?

Kim Ji-yoon (3:33)

I don't really think so. And I don't really think he has that much of a driving force this time. I mean, basically, first, where can he go? I mean, he cannot really go to the People's Party because, you know, that he has a really bad relationship with Mr. An Cheol-soo. And if it probably he was thinking the Baranjungdang. But as you mentioned, Mr. Nam Kyung-pil and Mr. Yoo Seung-min, they are enjoying just one or two percent of the support. So not really possible or probable for them to be elected to the president. Maybe you can be kind of, you know, just saying that, oh, I'm supporting them and I'm a real conservative and kind of try to make a big or a small tent. But well, to win the presidential election, that's not enough. You need your own agenda. You need your own some kind of the policies or platform. You cannot just win the presidential election by just saying that I'm anti Moon or anti somebody else. So I don't really think if he can do any very significant role in this election. I kind of doubt it.

SPEAKER_1 (4:41)

I mean, Bang Ki-moon, when he came, he had well over 20% approval ratings or support in these polls. He was almost neck and neck with Moon Jae-in. And when he came in without that party structure and sort of kind of wanting these so-called, as in Korean, they say the love calls from the various parties, he found the reality to be, I don't have a lot of money right now, leasing these offices, paying these aides, this is a lot more difficult than I thought. And if he couldn't do it with his, I guess, relative popularity, it's very difficult to think Kim Jong-in could do it as well. Because there's not even a lot of, I guess they call it hokando, right? The idea of like appeal for him for the younger generation.