Ha Tae-kyung to Choi Jae-hyung: "Anti-Selection Clause Means Giving Up Presidential Election"

Ha Tae-kyung, a presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party, criticized former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung's claim regarding the 'reverse selection prevention clause.'
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Ha Tae-kyung, a presidential primary candidate from the People Power Party, criticized former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung's proposal to include a 'reverse voting prevention' clause in the presidential primary opinion polls, saying, "Are we holding a party leader primary now?"

On the 19th, Ha stated on his Facebook, "Choi Jae-hyung, who said he would follow the party's primary rules, is now changing his stance late due to vested interests."

Earlier, former Chairman Choi expressed concerns about reverse voting, where ruling party supporters participate in the party's primary through opinion polls to select a candidate favorable to them, and advocated for the necessity of a 'reverse voting prevention clause.'

Ha pointed out, "The People Power Party's presidential candidate is selected 50% by national opinion polls and 50% by party members and delegates' votes," adding, "The intention is to open the primary to the public, not just party members, to secure moderate expansion." He emphasized, "Suddenly proposing to include a reverse voting prevention clause in the national opinion polls is an absurd claim."

He continued, "Are we holding a party leader primary now? It is embarrassing to see candidate Choi Jae-hyung be the first to raise his hand and object to the primary rules," criticizing, "How long has he been in politics to already start changing his words?"

He stated, "There is no reverse voting prevention clause in the main presidential election vote. The choice must be made by the entire nation," and criticized, "Suggesting that the national opinion polls for selecting the presidential candidate be conducted only among our party supporters is no different from giving up on the presidential election and is a foolish claim."

At the end of his post, Ha added, "The Primary Preparation Committee has already decided twice not to include a reverse voting prevention clause in the national opinion polls," and expressed hope that "there will be no unfortunate incident where the already decided matter is shaken by backroom politics, plunging the party into another whirlpool of discord."

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