Kwon Eun-hee: "Kim Jong-in, Seong Il-jong, and Others Are 'Anjalal'... Shameful Backdoor Politics"

"Kim Jong-in Must Come Out Personally to Evaluate, 합당 Will Take Time"

Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 22nd and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As various anecdotes emerged that former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in belittled Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, criticized it as a "shameful backdoor politics." She also demanded that former Chairman Kim step forward and publicly explain the basis of his evaluation.

On the 15th, Floor Leader Kwon appeared on YTN’s "Hwang Bo-seon’s Start Morning" and pointed to People Power Party lawmaker Sung Il-jong and Jang Seong-cheol, head of the Policy Center for Empathy and Debate, saying, "Recently, new types of ‘Anjalal (I know Ahn Cheol-soo well)’ have appeared through interviews," making this remark.

She explained, "Lawmaker Sung showed the new ‘Anjalal’ trait by saying that through former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in’s remarks, he had a ‘feeling’ that Ahn Cheol-soo might not be a national leader candidate," and "Director Jang said that former Chairman Kim criticized Ahn Cheol-soo in just three words. It’s a new ‘Anjalal’ trait that I can’t even bring myself to say with my own mouth."

Earlier, on the 14th, Lawmaker Sung appeared on CBS’s "Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show" and, quoting former Chairman Kim, targeted Ahn by saying, "It seems he judged that he is not a candidate for national leadership." On the same day, Director Jang appeared on SBS’s "Joo Young-jin’s News Briefing" and relayed what the party leadership and emergency committee members said in a closed meeting during unification negotiations. He said, "Former Chairman Kim described Ahn in exactly three words," adding, "I can’t bring myself to say it out loud."

In response, Floor Leader Kwon pointed out, "When evaluating political leadership, one should publicly explain the political behavior that leads to such an evaluation and also accept judgment themselves," adding, "He is hiding the basis of his judgment and delivering backdoor-level evaluations in the form of ‘feelings’ received by those around him."

She also mentioned former Chairman Kim, who has been critical of Ahn, saying, "If he wants to make a judgment, I hope former Chairman Kim returns to a normal stance where he publicly states which political remarks or behaviors of Ahn led to his judgment."

On the same day, Floor Leader Kwon also emphasized that merging with the People Power Party itself cannot be the goal. She said, "The merger itself cannot be the goal; the goal is for the entire opposition to unite and achieve a regime change."

She continued, "A merger requires strict procedures within a political party," and "It is inevitable that time is needed to go through a process of gathering opinions through sufficient communication with party members."

Furthermore, regarding the People Power Party’s calls for an ‘absorption merger,’ she stated, "After the election, voices related to absorption or individual membership in the People Power Party are emerging," and firmly declared, "The People’s Party is not a satellite party of the People Power Party."

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