Park Chan-joo Withdraws from Presidential Primary Candidacy... "Supports Hong Jun-pyo"

Park Chan-joo, a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party presidential primary, is announcing his pledges at the 'Change Korea, 3 Major Promises' presentation held at the ASSA Building broadcast studio in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 7th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Retired Army General Park Chan-joo, who participated in the preliminary primary of the People Power Party's presidential candidate, withdrew from the race by declaring his support for his competitor, People Power Party lawmaker Hong Jun-pyo, ahead of the first cut-off of the primary.

On the 12th, General Park announced his resignation, stating, "As of today, I intend to get off the People Power Party primary bus."

He explained his reason for withdrawal, saying, "My goal was to advance to the top 8 in the first round, but even if I made it to the top 8, I felt I did not have the capacity to continue participating in the primary, and I thought now was the appropriate time to step down."

He then expressed his support for Lawmaker Hong. He said, "All candidates are excellent, but I judged that Hong is the one who will firmly restore security as the commander-in-chief," adding, "I believe he is the right person to uncover the truth behind the Moon Jae-in administration's illegal deep-rooted investigations and to achieve the political reform everyone desires, so I declare my support for Hong."

With General Park's withdrawal, the number of preliminary candidates in the People Power Party primary has become 11. The People Power Party will conduct public opinion polls on the 13th and 14th and announce the results of the first cut-off on the 15th. Eight candidates, excluding three, are expected to advance to the second cut-off.

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