Seminar on evaluating the June 3 local elections concludes
'1% was internal division, 1% was lack of vision'
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun hosted a seminar Friday at the National Assembly Members' Office Building titled "Evaluating and Reflecting on the June 3 Local Elections — What Did Conservatives Lose, and What Must They Reclaim?" The event was organized to take a clear-eyed look at the results of the June 3 local elections and National Assembly by-elections, and to identify the reform steps the conservative camp must take to rebuild public trust.
In his opening remarks, Yoon said he had repeatedly called on the PPP to approach the election with an attitude of atonement and accountability. "I have consistently emphasized that we must seek the public's forgiveness for failing to prevent the failures of the previous administration, and show a resolute commitment to defending the values of liberal democracy and a free democratic republic," he said.
He added that the party had received a stern warning from the public. "If we fail to properly answer the call of the times — change, innovation and unity — there is no future for us," he said.
Yoon said the party had fallen short by just 2 percent in the election. "One percent was internal division, and the other 1 percent was our failure to offer a vision that could give the public hope," he said.
He argued the PPP could recover if it overcame internal divisions and presented a forward-looking vision the public could embrace. "How we put into practice the public's demands for change, innovation and unity will determine whether we win or lose going forward," he said.
Yoon drew on his experience as secretary-general of the Saenuri Party in 2014, recalling that the party had maintained a posture of atonement and accountability through local and by-elections held in the immediate aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster — and that the public had given them another chance. "Politics must ultimately begin with sincerely taking responsibility before the people," he said.
Yoon moderated the seminar. Baejae University chair professor Kim Hyung-jun presented on "Evaluating the June 3 Local Elections and Examining Party Realignment." Kyung Hee University Public Governance Research Institute professor Chae Jin-won and political commentator Park Sang-byung then joined as discussants, sharing views on the significance of the election results and the tasks ahead for the conservative camp.
The seminar was attended by PPP lawmakers Ko Dong-jin, Kim Dae-sik, Kim Min-jeon, Kim Jang-gyeom, Park Soo-young, Eom Tae-young, Jo Bae-suk, Joo Ho-young, Choi Su-jin and Choi Hyeong-du, as well as Yoon Yong-geun, the Assembly member-elect for Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang, and Park Jong-jin, former PPP Incheon chapter chairman.
"Today's seminar is not a forum for assigning blame over the election defeat — it is a starting point for the PPP to return to the people," Yoon said. "Only by changing, innovating and uniting at the level the public expects can we restore their trust."
bigroot@heraldcorp.com
