Kim Jong-in "Can't Even Debate Properly" vs Ahn Cheol-soo "Truly Insulting" Flare-Up

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, who is running in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, is being interviewed at the People Party office in Yeouido, Seoul, last January. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Sharp words were exchanged between Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the People’s Party, and Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, over the opposition candidate unification negotiations for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. When Chairman Kim criticized Ahn on the 15th, saying, "A person who cannot even properly debate cannot become the Seoul mayor candidate," Ahn retorted, "That is truly an insulting remark."

On the same day, at the first meeting of the party’s central election countermeasures committee for the by-election held at the Yeouido party headquarters, Chairman Kim targeted Ahn, saying, "It is natural to debate during the unification process. There can be no negotiation that avoids debate."

Regarding the People’s Party’s proposal to remove the candidate’s number and party name from the unification opinion poll, Chairman Kim said, "Our party designated candidate Oh Se-hoon as candidate number 2, the People Power Party’s Oh Se-hoon, not just the individual Oh Se-hoon," and added, "The other side (Ahn) is the same. Ignoring these and trying to do something else is unreasonable."

In response to Ahn’s claim that "the People Power Party side does not recognize the agreement in the unification process," Kim said, "Ahn is making excuses. Has candidate Oh agreed on anything with him?" and pointed out, "Ahn acts like a private individual without party constraints, but I hope he recognizes that Oh is the People Power Party candidate."

Kim Jong-in, Chairman of the Central Election Countermeasures Committee of the People Power Party, is delivering an opening remark at the 1st Seoul Donghaeng Meeting of the Central Election Countermeasures Committee for the April 7 by-election held at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Regarding Chairman Kim’s remarks, Ahn immediately reacted on his Facebook post the same day, calling them "truly insulting."

Ahn said, "I only suggested debating according to the unification schedule; I have not avoided debate. I even said it would be fine to debate twice a day, morning and afternoon," and added, "I don’t know where such absurd comments come from or what the intention behind them is."

He continued, "Mutual respect between opposition unification candidates aligns with the purpose of unification and is common sense, as it can unite both sides’ supporters to create synergy," and pointed out, "I hope you understand that many opposition supporters are sighing at Chairman Kim’s stubbornness and emotional remarks."

Meanwhile, Ahn and Oh held a vision presentation at a studio in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, at 3 p.m. that day. Although the two candidates had exchanged heated words over unification negotiations earlier, raising the possibility of a three-way race, they agreed to achieve opposition unification by the candidate registration deadline on the 19th.

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