Kim Jong-in "Joo Ho-young conspiring with Ahn Cheol-soo"... Joo Ho-young "I think you are mistaken"

Kim Jong-in Criticizes Discussions on Merger Between People Power Party and People Party in Media Interview
Joo Ho-young: "I Only Tried to Prevent the Unity from Breaking, Did Not Help Anyone"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, sharply criticized Joo Ho-young, the floor leader and acting party representative, who is considered a frontrunner for the next party leadership. He alleged that during the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election opposition primary, Joo conspired to help Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, who was a rival candidate. Joo refuted this, saying he only tried to prevent the unification from breaking down and never helped anyone else.

On the 8th, at the People Power Party's members' meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman, is shaking hands with Joo Ho-young, the floor leader, after delivering his farewell speech.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 20th, in an interview with Kyunghyang Newspaper, former Chairman Kim said, "I just cannot understand that person (Joo Ho-young)" and claimed, "Joo was the one who tried to make Ahn Cheol-soo the (opposition) Seoul mayoral candidate." He added, "He couldn’t say that to me directly but conspired with Ahn behind my back. I suppressed those people and made Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, win the election, but now those people are making absurd claims (about merging with the People’s Party)."

Earlier, former Chairman Kim had repeatedly stated that senior candidates of the People Power Party expressed support for Ahn instead of Oh, who held the party membership, during the opposition Seoul mayoral candidate primary.

On the other hand, after a floor strategy meeting held that day, Floor Leader Joo met with reporters and explained, "People can have different thoughts when looking at the situation," and said, "I never helped any specific person during the primary. I think (former Chairman Kim) is misunderstanding." He continued, "I only tried to prevent the unification from breaking down because it could cause difficulties in the election, but I never helped or did anything for anyone. I think that point is misunderstood."

Regarding the internal voices calling for recruiting Yoon Seok-youl, former Prosecutor General and current frontrunner in presidential election polls, into the People Power Party, former Chairman Kim also expressed harsh criticism.

Kim said, "The same phenomenon is happening now," and criticized, "Because Yoon’s approval rating is high, they think that if only Yoon Seok-youl joins the party, everything will be settled." He added, "That kind of politics cannot win the hearts of the people." About Yoon’s joining the People Power Party, he said, "If he joins the People Power Party and plays in the muddy water, he will become the same person," comparing it to "a swan becoming a duck when it goes to a duck pond."

He also voiced negative opinions about the merger between the People Power Party and the People’s Party. He said, "What change will there be besides three more lawmakers joining if they merge?" and conveyed public sentiment, "The people do not want a merger. They want the People Power Party, which brought them victory this time, to make fundamental changes to confirm the significance of the votes they gave." He added, "The party should specifically analyze the reasons for the election victory and prepare how to maintain the votes given by the electorate in next year’s presidential election."

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