Won Hee-ryong: "Party's Land-Grabbing... Absurd Act" Direct Criticism of Yoon and Choi's Personnel Recruitment

Won Hee-ryong "As a political senior, I am just astonished... Is the goal to take over the People Power Party?"

Won Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Yeeun] Won Hee-ryong, a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party's presidential primary, criticized his competitors Yoon Seok-yeol and Choi Jae-hyung for their successive announcements of recruiting party personnel, saying, "Instead of lining up within the party, I hope they present policies and visions that reach out to the people."

On the afternoon of the 4th, Won posted on his social media (SNS) a message titled "How did political newcomers Yoon Seok-yeol and Choi Jae-hyung learn politics?" He said, "It is astonishing as a senior politician to watch newcomers competing to recruit outsiders while the party is engaged in a land-grabbing competition."

He added, "Having experienced many elections, this is the first time I have seen the 'bizarre act' of daily announcements about recruiting various party figures."

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (left) and Former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier that day (the 4th), Yoon Seok-yeol's camp announced the appointments of party members Lee Cheol-gyu and Yoon Han-hong as the head of the camp's organizational headquarters and the general deputy director of the comprehensive situation room, respectively. Former lawmakers Jung Yong-gi and Joo Kwang-deok also joined Yoon's camp, resulting in four current People Power Party lawmakers holding positions.

Choi Jae-hyung's camp has lawmakers Park Dae-chul and Cho Hae-jin handling presidential election strategy, planning, and policy tasks. They also plan to consolidate support from PK (Busan·Gyeongnam) district lawmakers such as Kim Mi-ae.

Regarding this, Won said, "To achieve regime change, efforts should be made to expand beyond the People Power Party," adding, "Is it acceptable to act as if the goal is not winning the presidential election but taking over the People Power Party?"

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