Lee Taegyu "Ahn Joining People Power Party and Primary Election? Not Considering at All"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Lee Tae-gyu, the Secretary-General of the People’s Party, stated on the 21st that Ahn Cheol-soo, who declared his candidacy for Seoul mayor, is "not considering at all" the possibility of joining the People Power Party and competing in its primary.

On the same day, on MBC Radio’s "Kim Jong-bae’s Focus," Lee said, "Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, and many members of the party have suggested that it would be the smoothest and best if he joined and ran."

When asked if he prefers the method of unifying candidates between the candidate selected through the People Power Party primary and Ahn, Lee said, "There are people talking about such a scenario, but I can clearly confirm that internally, we have never judged or discussed any method."

Lee added, "There have been various talks about holding a one-shot primary to select the People Power Party candidate first and then having a unified primary with Ahn, but we have never made a judgment on that. If the opposition supporters demand candidate unification and both parties feel the necessity, I think some organization or consultative body should be formed to discuss the method of candidate unification."

Regarding the possibility of a merger after the election, he said, "If the opposition candidate unification is smoothly achieved, it will be a great driving force for future opposition innovation and reorganization. If Ahn runs as the unified opposition candidate, it will be a decisive catalyst for opposition reorganization."

Regarding the reason why Ahn, who had expressed his intention not to run, reversed his position to run, Lee said, "In this regular National Assembly session, the ruling party unilaterally handled the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) law and several contentious bills, and the opposition showed powerless opposition to block them. It is understood that he judged that the National Assembly can no longer stop the current administration’s unilateral governance." He added, "He believes that only by defeating the ruling party through the election and sounding an alarm can he stop it."

On the possibility of Ahn running in the 2022 presidential election, Lee said, "When he declared his candidacy for Seoul mayor, you can say he put all his efforts into that. Personally, if he wins the Seoul mayoral by-election next year, I think it is politically proper for him to challenge for re-election as Seoul mayor afterward."

Regarding the evaluation that Kim Jong-in views Ahn negatively, Lee said, "I don’t know if there is any deep meaning, but the principle that the opposition must unite to win the Seoul mayoral election is a consensus shared by all members of the opposition. That itself cannot be denied." When asked if former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop is also one of the unification candidates, he said, "Everyone should seriously put their heads together for the opposition’s victory."

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