Ahn Cheol-soo: "Running Independently in the Presidential Election? I've Never Thought About It Nor Discussed It with the Party"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, drew a line on the possibility of running independently in the presidential election, saying, "I have never personally considered it, nor has the party discussed it."

On the afternoon of the 4th, Ahn appeared on JoongAng Ilbo’s YouTube channel 'Kang Chan-ho's Too Much Talker' and referred to the recent remarks by party lawmakers Kwon Eun-hee and Lee Tae-gyu about his possible independent candidacy, saying, "They are people who speak with conviction about what they want to say."

Ahn said, "This presidential election is one on which the fate of the nation depends, but various situations are unfolding very difficultly," and added, "The support rate for the main opposition party is stagnating or falling, while the Democratic Party’s support rate continues to rise," emphasizing that all opposition forces need to be alert.

Regarding the merger with the People Power Party, he said, "Why did we try to merge? To broaden the opposition support base and achieve a regime change," and explained, "If both sides have their support bases, the reason for the merger is to ‘add together’ without any defection. But if that is not the case, and opposition supporters defect during the unification process, the possibility of regime change becomes more distant."

In particular, responding to People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok’s question, "Will you merge or not?" Ahn compared it to the historical fact of a Japanese general asking "Will you surrender or not?" during Japan’s invasion of Singapore in the past, saying, "As the party leader, I speak while considering how the members or supporters of the opposing party might think, not by looking directly at the person in front of me."

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