Departing Kim Jong-in: "Many People in People Power Party Are Ambitious for Party Leadership"

"If You Mistake It for Victory, You Will Be Divided into Four and Five"... Pointing Out Internal Division and Strife

Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is holding a farewell press conference at the National Assembly on the 8th. / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, candidly stated in his farewell speech on the 8th that "there are many people within the People Power Party who are solely greedy for party leadership." Although he achieved the outcome of "winning the by-elections," he pointed out that the lingering divisions and conflicts within the party could always act as risk factors.

On the morning of the same day, Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly and announced his intention to step down, saying, "I stand here to say that I have fulfilled my duty as the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party and will now step down."

He added, "With the overwhelming support of the people, I believe we have created at least the minimum foundation for regime change and the recovery of people's livelihoods by winning the Seoul and Busan by-elections," and stated, "I will now return to my natural position."

He then addressed the People Power Party, saying, "Over the past year, the People Power Party has made efforts for fundamental innovation and change in its own way, but there are still many shortcomings," and pointed out, "The most serious problem is internal division and conflict."

He also diagnosed, "As seen in the Seoul mayoral primary, there are those who do not think about strengthening the party themselves but rely on external forces or only intend to shake the party," and warned, "There are signs that greed and conflicts that make the public frown could reoccur at any time."

He emphasized, "If the party does not humbly accept this election result as a victory for the people and mistakenly believes that they themselves have won, loosening the reins of reform, the party will again be divided," and warned, "The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve regime change and the recovery of people's livelihoods will disappear."

After concluding the People Power Party’s caucus meeting that day, Kim explained to reporters, "I spoke with the intention that the party should unite a bit and join forces toward a unified direction," and added, "Ultimately, as the main opposition party, there is a lack of responsibility to achieve regime change in next year’s presidential election, so I was talking about what needs to be done to have that responsibility."

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