Kim Jong-in Targets Ahn Cheol-soo: "People Who Can't Debate Can't Be Mayoral Candidates"

"Why would someone so unsure want to run for office?"

Kim Jong-in, Chairman of the People Power Party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee, is delivering an opening remark at the 1st Seoul Donghaeng Meeting of the 4.7 By-election Central Election Countermeasures Committee held at the Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] On the 15th, Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, targeted Ahn Cheol-soo, the Seoul mayoral candidate of the People’s Party, saying, "A person who cannot even properly debate cannot become a Seoul mayoral candidate." He also sharply criticized Ahn’s camp’s claim to 'remove party names and symbols' during the election candidacy, saying, "What kind of person so lacking in confidence would want to run?"

On the morning of the same day, at the first meeting of the Party Central Election Countermeasures Committee Seoul Together held at the central party office in Yeouido, Chairman Kim stated, "I think it is natural that candidates should have a certain level of debate during the unification process," adding, "Negotiations that avoid such (debates) cannot be made."

Regarding the 'party name and symbol notation,' he emphasized, "Our party designated Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayoral candidate, as candidate number 2 of the People Power Party, not Oh Se-hoon as a natural person," and added, "The other side is the same; the candidate who puts forward their party’s symbol and name is not just a natural person candidate."

About the ongoing opposition unification process between the two candidates, he said, "I feel that unifying the Seoul mayoral candidates is difficult, but I think it will be smoothly achieved," and added, "Once unification is achieved, as recent public opinion trends have confirmed, I am confident that we will definitely win."

He continued, "Our party must win this time to promise the public a reassuring political future, so our party will unite as one, make our party’s candidate the unified candidate, and then we will have the conviction to surely lead Seoul’s mayoral race to victory."

After the press conference ended, Chairman Kim raised his voice regarding the controversy over party name and symbol notation during a session with reporters, saying, "When you go to the polling station, isn’t the party and symbol number written on the ballot paper? What kind of person so lacking in confidence would want to run?"

Regarding Ahn’s dissatisfaction that "the People Power Party side does not recognize the agreement in the unification process," he reiterated, "What concrete agreement has Ahn made with Oh? Oh is clearly a People Power Party candidate."

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