Yoo Seung-min's Aggressive Moves Driven by Urgency: "The Current Approach Is Not Enough to Check the Lee Administration"

Yoo Seung-min Continues Meetings with Former Pro-Yoon Faction

"We Must Join Hands Across Divisions Within the People Power Party"

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, who once represented the Saenuri Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party), has recently been making wide-ranging moves, meeting with a broad spectrum of figures including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former pro-Yoon lawmakers. In addition to supporting the June 3rd local elections, he has been actively expressing strong positions on key issues such as real estate policy and supplementary investigative powers.

Particularly noteworthy is Yoo's recent engagement with pro-Yoon figures with whom he had previously had a strained relationship. Yoo, who has championed reformist conservatism and was recognized for his appeal to centrists, those in the Seoul metropolitan area, and younger generations, found himself at odds with the party mainstream after expressing dissenting views during the impeachment of former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol. This led to him becoming a target of attacks and maintaining an uneasy relationship with those factions.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (right) is meeting with former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min at the Seoul Mayor's residence in Yongsan District, Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

An associate of Yoo explained that his motivation for these broad outreach efforts is "frustration." While he has deep concerns about President Lee Jaemyung's real estate policies and moves to revise supplementary investigative powers, he sees the primary problem as the party’s own sense of helplessness. The associate said, "Under the Lee Jaemyung administration, the only way to apply any check, no matter what the government does, is the '24-hour filibuster,' which shows just how powerless the party is right now.” They went on to say that there is a strong sense of concern that “if the party fails to win back the National Assembly in the next general election, there will be nothing it can do.” Yoo is particularly concerned that the government’s direction on real estate policy and supplementary investigative powers could lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Yoo, who previously helped found parties such as the Bareun Party, reportedly believes that if the party is divided over the issue of impeachment, it is destined for certain defeat. He has conveyed to those around him, "Whether one supported or opposed impeachment, I've grown convinced that fighting over such issues means nothing gets accomplished. For the future of the conservative movement, it is essential to find common ground and work together even with those who opposed impeachment.” He is now seriously considering how to bring both sides together for a broader unity. A senior member of the People Power Party who recently met with Yoo said, "Although our opinions have sometimes clashed and led to arguments, we have worked together as one group within the larger framework for a long time."

Previously, in the local elections, Yoo offered campaign support not only for Mayor Oh but also for lawmakers such as Yoo Eui-dong and Lee Soohee, the head of Gangdong-gu District in Seoul, contributing to their victories.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.