'Winning the general election means winning the greater Seoul area'

'I'll do whatever it takes if there's a role for me in rebuilding the conservative camp'

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seong-min. [Yonhap]
Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seong-min. [Yonhap]

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seong-min said Tuesday that if the upcoming party leadership convention results in Jang Dong-hyeok continuing as party leader, the outlook would be "extremely bleak," adding that the convention would be "a turning point that decides the fate of the conservative camp."

Yoo said the conservative bloc must unite "under one roof" — including Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok, independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon — to win the next general election.

Appearing on KBS Radio's "Jeongyeok Sisa" on Tuesday, Yoo drew a line on whether he would run in the next People Power Party leadership convention, saying the convention "has not even been announced yet" and that he would decide once a date was set.

He went on to say that "the conservative camp has been too badly damaged over the past decade and more — impeached twice, losing three consecutive general elections, losing both the executive and legislative branches" — and that he was "clearly determined to do whatever role there is for me, whether to rebuild the conservative camp, revive it, or help it win the next general election."

On his short-term political goal, Yoo said it was simply "winning the general election." He said that if the conservative camp failed to win the next general election, "it would truly be finished," and that it was essential to stop the Lee Jae Myung administration from "wrecking the economy and national security and trying to take control of the judiciary."

Yoo said conservatives within the camp must set aside their conflicts and unite ahead of the general election. "In a big party, people can fight and bicker and personally dislike each other," he said, "but they all need to come together. If they don't unite around the single standard of winning the general election, the next one won't be easy."

"Whether it's Lee Jun-seok, Han Dong-hoon, Oh Se-hoon or anyone else, I believe everyone has to come together under one roof — and even then we may or may not win," he said. "How can you fight a general election with Han Dong-hoon off forming his own separate party and Lee Jun-seok staying in the Reform Party?"

On seats in the greater Seoul area, Yoo said, "Winning the general election means winning in the metropolitan area. We currently hold just 20 of the 122 seats in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. To win a majority, we need to bring in 60 to 70 seats from those three."

Yoo said even the hard-line conservatives who support Jang must be part of any unity effort. "Even with Jang Dong-hyeok, it's not about him personally — there are staunch conservative voters who support him," he said. "They need to be part of this too. Wouldn't they agree that you have to work together if you want to win?"

However, Yoo distanced himself from Jang's opposition to Han's return to the party, saying that stance was "only valid while he remains leader." He added that if the convention produced a result in which Jang continued as leader, he would find that "extremely bleak."

On the timing of the next convention, Yoo said he did not know whether it would be held in February, April or August, but said it would be "a turning point that decides the fate of the conservative camp."


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