People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok has continued a hunger strike for the sixth day since on the 15th. He is urging the Democratic Party of Korea to accept a special counsel probe into the Unification Church and nomination bribes (twin special counsels).
Since Jang began the hunger strike, support for the People Power Party has been rising. Key politicians from the party are also visiting Jang one after another. In political circles, there is a reaction that "as Jang's hunger strike becomes a catalyst for conservative consolidation, attention is on whether it will connect as a positive factor for the local elections."
◇ Jang Dong-hyeok on sixth day of hunger strike… PPP approval up 3.5 percentage points
On the 20th, the sixth day of his hunger strike, leader Jang Dong-hyeok was said to be holding out by drinking only water with salt. When he rose in the tent, he was seen being supported by chief of staff Park Jun-tae. Lawmaker Seo Myeong-ok of the People Power Party, a former physician, said, "Jang is firmly refusing to be taken to a hospital, but days 7 to 10 of a hunger strike are the second critical phase, so we are also prepared to transfer him to a hospital if necessary."
Analysts say the hunger strike is rallying conservative supporters. In a party approval poll conducted by Realmeter on the 15th-16th at the request of Energy Economy News, the People Power Party's approval rating was 37%, up 3.5 percentage points from a week earlier. In particular, it jumped 15.3 percentage points in the Daegu–North Gyeongsang (TK) region. Chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said of the rise, "It appears Jang's hunger strike was the starting point," adding, "As the opposition leader put life on the line, it spurred consolidation among conservatives."
Key politicians from the People Power Party are also gathering at the site of Jang's hunger strike. On the 18th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo visited Jang. On the 19th, South Chungcheong Gov. Kim Tae-heum and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon also came. On the morning of the 20th, former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min visited Jang. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, who left for Mexico for parliamentary diplomacy, will return early on the 21st and come to the hunger strike site.
Political commentator Park Sang-byeong said, "The People Power Party, which had been deepening in internal strife, is seizing an opportunity for conservative consolidation through Jang's hunger strike," adding, "It appears to be a strategy to carry this into the local election phase."
◇ Major politicians including YS and DJ overcame political crises through hunger strikes
In politics, hunger strikes have been used as a "do-or-die strategy" to press demands. The late former President Kim Young-sam, as leader of the New Korea Democratic Party in 1983, went on a 23-day hunger strike to resist the Chun Doo-hwan regime's house arrest and ban on political activity, which drew concentrated attention to the democratization movement. Former President Kim Dae-jung, as leader of the Peace Democratic Party in 1990, also staged a 13-day hunger strike to demand the implementation of local autonomy and the abandonment of a cabinet-style constitutional amendment.
Hunger strikes have also been used by opposition leaders as a means to push through their views against the government and ruling party. In Nov. 2003 under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, then Hannara Party leader Choi Byung-ryul secured the adoption of a special counsel to investigate corruption involving Roh's close associates through a 10-day hunger strike. Former Justice Party lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan and lawmaker Shim Sang-jung also recorded the longest duration among politicians (30 days).