'180-seat remark' jolts general election

A liberal-minded political commentator's remarks predicting that the “pan-ruling bloc” could win 180 seats in the 300-strong National Assembly is emerging as a last-minute variable ahead of Wednesday's general election.

The opposition is using it to rally conservative voters by calling it “extreme arrogance,” while the ruling party is trying to minimize any fallout from the remarks that they believe gave ammunition to its rivals to attack its campaign that has been faring well.

Rhyu Si-min, a former liberal politician and head of a foundation that memorializes former President Roh Moo-hyun, said in a social media broadcast, Friday, that it would not be unfeasible for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and other liberal parties to win 180 seats in the Assembly.

The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) did not miss the opportunity to take advantage of this controversial remark, urging voters to punish the ruling side's “haughtiness” in the election.

“The Moon Jae-in administration's arrogance has reached its limit,” UFP Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn said during a campaign rally in Seoul, Sunday. “Such an act is far from an attitude of serving the people.”
 
Park Hyeong-jun, co-head of the UFP's election committee, implored voters, Monday, to support his party in the election to stop the ruling party from operating the Assembly unilaterally.

He stressed that the Constitutional Court, local governments and education offices have been filled with pro-government figures since the inauguration of the Moon administration in 2017, adding, “If the ruling bloc secures enough seats to independently amend the Constitution, the nation's democracy will face a critical situation.”

According to the Constitution, the minimum number of seats required to block any attempt to adopt a constitutional amendment is 100.

A local media outlet reported earlier in the day that the UFP's think tank carried out its own poll over the weekend to find that the combined number of seats won by the UFP and its satellite party Future Korea Party would fall short of this.

Despite such a forecast of victory, the DPK remains alert over any possible backlash as hasty confidence, as exhibited by Rhyu's remark, could unite conservatives and even lose it support from centrist voters.

So the DPK leadership is calling for a “humble attitude” among party members, urging them to go all-out until the end of the campaign.

“Based on our own analysis, our candidates are still engaged in hard-fought races in 70 out of 121 constituencies in Seoul and its surrounding area,” DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan said during a party meeting in Seoul, Monday.

“Those who desperately appeal to voters down to the wire will be winners.”

Lee Nak-yon, a former prime minister and co-chair of the DPK's election committee, also called on the party to remain humble en route to election day.
 
"As no one knows how the situation will unfold, I ask party members and supporters to stay vigilant and appeal to voters until the election is over,” he said in a radio interview.

Lee, running for a seat representing Seoul's crucial Jongno District, also said that those outside the DPK hastily predicting the election result should remain cautious.

Meanwhile, surveys show President Moon's approval rating has been increasing, hitting 54.4 percent in the most recent poll, up from 47.2 percent in the second week of March ― a good omen for his administration and the ruling party with three days to go before the elections.

According to the survey by Realmeter, the figure was a 17-month high, up by 0.7 percentage points from the previous week's 53.7 percent. The ratio of those critical of his leadership dropped by 0.9 percentage points to 42.3 percent during the same period.

“The government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have contributed to Moon's approval rate rising,” a Realmeter official said.