South Korean presidential election: opposition candidate's ”solo run” no longer the focus of election campaign

In the South Korean presidential election to be held on June 3, Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the largest opposition Democratic Party of Korea, is still in the lead in the election campaign. However, according to South Korean media, Lee Jae-myung and the ruling party
The results of a public opinion poll released on the 23rd of this month showed that the gap in support between Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea has narrowed to single digits.
The presidential election was held following the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol.
Yoon was dismissed because he declared "emergency martial law" in December last year. Emergency martial law is a type of martial law stipulated in the South Korean Constitution, and is used when necessary for military purposes in times of war or other emergency situations.
The president issues these orders when necessary or to maintain public order. The military takes control of administrative and judicial functions and is authorized to restrict freedom of speech, publication, and association.
Following the declaration of emergency martial law for the first time, armed soldiers of the martial law army broke the windows and stormed into the National Diet Building. In a situation reminiscent of the military regime, many citizens gathered in front of the National Diet and martial law was declared.
In addition to raising slogans of opposition, the protesters surrounded military vehicles, causing chaos. Yoon lifted the state of emergency after just six hours, but the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Yoon for "suspending the constitutional order."
The National Assembly submitted a motion to impeach Yoon, accusing him of violating the Constitution by "attempting a civil war with a view to seizing permanent power." The motion passed, and the Constitutional Court decided to remove Yoon from office.
The Constitutional Court was then faced with the decision to decide whether to impeach Yoon or reinstate him, and last month all eight judges of the court unanimously voted to uphold his removal from office.
With Yoon's impeachment, a presidential election was scheduled to be held, but the national
There is strong backlash against Yoon, who has plunged the country into chaos, and criticism has also been directed at the ruling People Power Party, to which Yoon belonged, forcing Kim, the party's official candidate, into a tough election campaign.
Voters are also expressing a strong desire for a change in government, and Lee Jae-myung, the candidate endorsed by the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, has maintained the highest approval rating among presidential candidates in various opinion polls.
The election campaign has been going ahead with an advantage up until now. Candidate Lee Jae-myung still has the highest approval rating, but as the election campaign is nearing its final stages, it can no longer be said that Lee is "running alone." Public opinion
In a survey conducted by the research company Gallup Korea on the 20th to 22nd among 1,002 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, the approval rating of candidate Lee increased by 6 points compared to the previous week.
Meanwhile, candidate Kim rose 7 points to 36%, and candidate Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party also rose 2 points to 10%.
The gap in support for Kim has narrowed to 9 points in this survey. Regarding the reason for the narrowing of the gap between the two candidates, Gallup Korea said, "The reason is that former President Yoon Seok-yeol left the ruling party and then took over the party.
"The first candidate debate held in Seoul on Wednesday was seen as a turning point," he said. With Kim facing a tough election campaign, the People Power Party indicated its intention to encourage Yoon to leave the party, and Yoon responded by
Yoon left the party on the 17th. At the time, he posted on social media, "I am leaving the People Power Party to fulfill my responsibility to protect the free Republic of Korea." Yoon's departure from the party prompted him to reject last year's "emergency martial law."
It is believed that a certain number of independent voters, many of whom are sympathetic to party affiliation, have switched to supporting candidate Kim. Also, the first TV debate was held on the 18th, with the participation of the major candidates, but candidate Lee Jae-myung was noticeably on the defensive.
Some have also speculated that this was also one of the reasons for Lee's drop in approval rating. In the aforementioned Gallup Korea survey results, if the numbers for Kim and Lee Jun-seok were simply added together, the approval rating for Lee Jae-myung would be 1.2%.
On the 23rd, Kim Yong-tae, chairman of the emergency response committee of the People Power Party, said, "I ask candidate Lee Jun-seok to join forces with me and move forward on the path to victory through overwhelming unification," and asked candidate Lee Jun-seok to join forces with Kim.
He called for a unification of candidates. Meanwhile, candidate Lee Jun-seok has already indicated that he will not agree to unification, saying on the 22nd, "What the people who voted for me in the National Assembly election expect from me is
"I have absolutely no intention of betraying those expectations and unifying the party," he said. He then told reporters, "Please refrain from asking me any more questions about unifying the party.
It has no taste,” he said.