Kim Geun-sik: "The Result of 4 Years of 'Self-Reliance' is a 'Self-Isolating Party'... Hong Bringing Up Issues from 27 Years Ago is 'Self-Interest'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former Future United Party candidate for Seoul Songpa District, Kim Geun-sik, criticized former Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo's 'self-strengthening theory,' saying, "The public may perceive that the party has gone in an autistic direction without reflection through self-strengthening for four years." Regarding Hong's mention of former General Election Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in's 'Donghwa Bank corruption,' he called it 'self-interest.'

On the 27th, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "Insisting solely on pure-bloodism is the biggest enemy to expanding the party's scope."

He said, "Hong, who ran as a presidential candidate in 2017 and lost, still became party leader again. How could the party win the 2018 local elections with a former presidential candidate as leader?" He added, "In the 2018 local elections, they nominated Kim Moon-soo, a hardliner among hardliners, as the Seoul mayoral candidate. From the public's perspective, looking at the past four years, the party has gone in an autistic direction, shrinking its own scope without reflection through self-strengthening."

Kim also criticized Hong calling those who joined the party during the merger 'transients,' saying, "The metropolitan area has 121 seats, but our party holds only 18 seats in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. It's a devastating defeat." He added, "Anyone with strength, ability, will, and passion should come and properly reform the party and prepare for the next presidential election. But if now they call outsiders 'transients' and insist on another wrong, distorted pure-bloodism, the public will view it coldly."

Regarding Hong's continuous criticism of Kim's Donghwa Bank corruption, Kim said, "When the 'Kim Jong-in emergency committee chairman nomination' first came out, Hong was the first to publicly support him, but his stance changed overnight." He added, "When Hong said 'the time for presidential candidates is over,' it seems like a political calculation to prevent me from running, so he is even bringing up a 27-year-old case to attack me. This suspicion is quite plausible."

Earlier, Kim Jong-in emphasized the '70s generation theory,' saying that presidential candidates like Hong, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party, and Yoo Seung-min had already been verified in the last general election. Kim Geun-sik said, "It is natural political behavior to politically evaluate those mentioned as presidential candidates, and this was done even before the emergency committee chairman nomination. Bringing up a 27-year-old case just because I was ousted shows too much self-interest."

Regarding Ahn, he said, "Although he is still with the People's Party, I think he will remain as someone who can draw plans for cooperation and alliance with the Future United Party for the overall victory of the opposition. Personal likes or dislikes toward individual senior politicians or presidential candidates can vary, and there is an open space for two more years."

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