Kwon Young-se "Will Discuss Joining the Party with Choi Jae-hyung... Must Join Without Delay"

Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the People Power Party's External Cooperation Committee, is heading to the funeral hall of retired Colonel Choi Young-seop, father of former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, set up at the Yonsei Severance Hospital funeral home in Sinchon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 8th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Kwon Young-se, a member of the People Power Party and head of its External Cooperation Committee, stated that he plans to discuss with former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung the timing and method of Choi's future entry into the People Power Party. Regarding the timing of joining, he believes it would be appropriate for Choi to join without delay.

On the morning of the 8th, Kwon visited the funeral hall at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where the late Choi Young-seop, a retired Navy colonel and father of former Chairman Choi, was laid to rest, to offer his condolences. After paying respects, he said, "I exchanged words of consolation with the bereaved family," adding, "It was not an appropriate time to talk about politics, so we mainly spoke about personal matters. I told him to take good care of his father and that we would meet afterward."

When asked if he intends to maintain contact with former Chairman Choi, who has expressed his intention to enter politics, Kwon replied, "Of course," adding, "He has firmly decided to enter politics after completing his final arrangements and has declared to the media his intention to engage in politics." He continued, "Political reorganization is definitely necessary for former Chairman Choi," and said, "I plan to have close discussions about the form and timing of his entry into the People Power Party."

Regarding the timing of joining, he said, "We will talk about it when we meet." He also stated, "There is not much difference from former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl," and added, "The media and public opinion expect that former Chairman Choi will join early, and I think that expectation has some merit." However, he noted, "Nothing has been decided yet, but my hope is that he joins without undue delay and proceeds with his presidential campaign."

Meanwhile, on the same day, former Chairman Choi met with reporters in front of the funeral hall and conveyed his late father's words, reaffirming his determination to participate in the presidential election. He said, "The last words my father left before he passed away were 'Illuminate the Republic of Korea,'" adding, "His final voice to me was 'Do it with conviction.' Those were the last words my father left me." Former Chairman Choi had previously expressed his intention to participate in politics in a media interview the day before.

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