Ahn Cheol-soo 'Confirmed as Unified Candidate of the Third Zone' and Hong Joon-pyo Says "Kim Jong-in Should Step Down Gracefully, Not Stubbornly"

On the 4th of last month, Hong Jun-pyo, an independent lawmaker, questioned the government on political, diplomatic, unification, and security issues during the National Assembly plenary session.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Choyoung] Hong Joon-pyo, an independent lawmaker, warned Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, regarding Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, being chosen as the unified third-party candidate for the Seoul mayoral by-election, saying, "From now on, stop being stubborn or spiteful and follow the flow of the situation."

On the 1st, Hong posted on his Facebook, "That is the beautiful way to step down on April 7," and pointed out, "As expected, the first unification with independent preliminary candidate Geum Tae-seop was smoothly achieved with Ahn Cheol-soo as the People’s Party candidate for Seoul mayor." He added, "Only the recapture of the Seoul mayor position remains," and argued, "It is also reasonable for the second unification to be decided through competition against the Democratic Party candidate."

Hong continued, "Seoul citizens only want the opposition party to win; they are not particularly interested in which opposition party wins. Ten years ago, Park Won-soon won after unifying the opposition and was elected eight times as an independent," and said, "Although a very small number of people from Kim Jong-in’s side in the People Power Party are already being stubborn, the trend cannot be reversed."

He criticized, "Kim Jong-in’s role in the two major by-elections is already nothing," and added, "Following the flow of the situation is the beautiful way to step down on April 7." Kim’s term ends on April 7, the day of the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s 'second unification' primary is scheduled to be held after the People Power Party’s final candidate is selected on the 4th.

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