Hataekyung to Ahn Cheolsoo: "It's time to graduate from 'elementary school kid' to 'college student'... Past disappointments must be overcome"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] On the 15th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, said about Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, "In the past, he was often criticized as 'Anchodong' (elementary school student), but now he has grown to about 'Daeding' (university student) level," adding, "That means he has grown a lot."

Through CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day, Ha said, "I myself have changed quite a bit since entering politics. I believe all politicians evolve," giving this assessment.

Regarding those who previously worked with Ahn and now uniformly criticize and condemn him, he said, "I think it is because they have strong memories of his past mistakes or immature parts," adding, "(I) have seen the grown Ahn up close, so I somewhat acknowledge him now, and that is why there is a difference in evaluation."

Ha emphasized, "(Those who criticize) may have been disappointed in the past and still harbor concerns, but I think that is an obstacle Ahn must overcome."

Regarding Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, sharpening his stance against Ahn, Ha said, "He wants to make our party’s candidate the unified candidate and is confident he can do so, but there is suspicion that Ahn might refuse to accept unification if he loses," adding, "I believe Ahn will accept it, but they are double-checking with the mindset of 'better safe than sorry.'"

Ha said, "If unification is refused or obstructed, they will be severely judged by the public, so the possibility of unification is overwhelmingly high." He continued, "The critical point is the process of negotiating the unification rules. There could be a one-shot primary with three final candidates including Ahn, or a two-person primary where one People Power Party candidate faces Ahn. Since a one-on-one matchup is not necessarily advantageous for Ahn, he may not only want that scenario." Therefore, there is also a possibility of unification first, then integration.

Ha said, "Before the presidential election, the People Power Party and the People’s Party will definitely unify," adding, "This time, it will not be easy time-wise, but I believe they can promise unification. When unifying, after the Seoul mayoral election, they will definitely unify and hold a unified party convention, or at least promise that."

Regarding Kim Dong-yeon, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, who is mentioned as a third candidate for the Seoul mayor from the Democratic Party, Ha said, "He can appeal to the moderate voters and is a desirable person for the Democratic Party, but he might lose due to the primary rules." Currently, the Democratic Party’s primary rules select candidates with a 50% party member vote and 50% public opinion poll ratio.

On the ongoing talk of a third candidate in the Democratic Party, Ha said, "If the polls continue as they are, it could become a situation where they regret changing the party rules to nominate a candidate, so they have no choice but to look for a new face," and predicted, "Besides former Deputy Prime Minister Kim, other names will continue to be mentioned."

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