The Democratic Party of Korea has issued a warning against optimism and launched a new campaign team 15 days before the election [1].
This strategic shift signals a concern over the party's current standing in highly contested districts. By suppressing complacency, party leadership aims to resolve internal frictions, and strengthen unity to secure a victory.
The party introduced the "Ottuk Campaign Team," a group primarily composed of candidates who lost their primary bids [1]. This team is designed to provide a resilient presence across South Korea, focusing specifically on regions where the electoral outlook is considered difficult [1].
Party leaders are promoting a "single-file formation" slogan to emphasize total integration and solidarity. This push for unity is intended to silence noise both within and outside the party, specifically targeting conflicts between different factions [1].
Park Ju-min, head of the Ottuk Campaign Team, emphasized a spirit of resilience during the launch. "With the spirit of an Ottuk—a roly-poly toy that always bounces back. Victory. Victory. Victory," Park said [1].
Party representative Jung Chung-rae also addressed the internal dynamics and the process of reconciliation. "Thinking back, it was a great help to the party, and for me, it may have actually served as a medicine," Jung said [1].
Despite these efforts to project a unified front, the party continues to face internal and external criticisms. The "optimism alert" serves as a formal acknowledgment that the party cannot rely on current polling or assumptions to win the upcoming vote [1].
““With the spirit of an Ottuk—a roly-poly toy that always bounces back. Victory. Victory. Victory.””
The mobilization of primary losers into the Ottuk Campaign Team is a tactical move to convert internal rivalry into external electoral strength. By framing the final two weeks as a crisis period rather than a victory lap, the party is attempting to maintain urgency among its base and mitigate the risk of complacency in swing districts.
