'How Favorable Was the Opposition Atmosphere During COVID-19?'... Controversy Over Ahn Cheol-soo's Remarks

With "Words too terrible to speak... Treating the people's suffering as nothing more than the opposition's plaything"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, introduced the atmosphere within the opposition regarding COVID-19 during the last general election, creating a situation where he corrected his statement. The Democratic Party criticized this, saying it revealed a perception that treated COVID-19 as merely an "opposition's winning card."

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 16th, Ahn appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" and, while mentioning potential risks if he unified with Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, he said, "A month before last year's general election, the opposition's atmosphere was very favorable due to COVID-19."

When the host pointed out that this could be misunderstood, he said, "Let me clarify," and corrected himself by saying, "There was a time when criticism of the government was high due to COVID-19, and support for the opposition was strong."

He added, "The opposition is temporarily enjoying a windfall from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal, but such changes can quickly vanish." Although he was pointing out that public opinion could rapidly reverse before the general election, the remark was open to misinterpretation.

The Democratic Party took issue with Ahn's remarks. Heo Young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party's Central Election Committee, criticized, "He uttered a dreadful statement that should not even be spoken," and said, "As a citizen before being a candidate for Seoul mayor, such words are unacceptable." Heo pointed out, "To treat the suffering of the people caused by COVID-19 as merely an opposition's winning card shows how low Ahn Cheol-soo's level of awareness truly is."

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