Ahn Cheol-soo's Decline... Choi Jin-seok Says "Mysterious Phenomenon, Blindly Supportive Voters Also a Problem"

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Choi Jin-seok, Standing Election Countermeasures Committee Chairman of the People’s Party, is attending the Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th and expressing his thoughts on joining the party. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Choi Jin-seok, the Standing Election Committee Chairman of the People’s Party, described the recent decline in approval ratings of presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who had been on the rise, as a "truly mysterious matter," and argued that "there is also a problem with voters who offer blind support."

On the 27th, when asked about this on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Chairman Choi responded, "It is indeed a mysterious matter. I feel sorry, perhaps because I am serving as the election committee chairman."

Regarding the post he made on Facebook on the 25th, which attracted attention with the statement, "It is a laughable scene drawn by political leaders who care only about political power rather than the direction the country is heading, and thoughtless voters," he said, "Since the presidential race is dominated by issues like insults and superstition, I had no choice but to say that. Politicians who support candidates are problematic, but I also believe that voters who participate and offer blind support are problematic," reiterating his point.

He added, "Since politicians are people seeking votes, much of the political landscape is actually shaped by the voters."

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, attended the Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th and shook hands with Choi Jin-seok, honorary professor at Sogang University, who was recruited as the standing election committee chairman. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Regarding Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, who demanded his resignation, saying that Choi was "indiscriminately criticizing supporters of other candidates with a false equivalence," Choi said, "It seems you were offended by my use of the term 'thoughtless,' and I apologize for causing offense," but explained, "However, the 'thought' I referred to is not a stream of consciousness but a strategic activity that can correct behavior." This implies that voters can positively influence the presidential race through strategic thinking rather than blind support for candidates.

Chairman Choi dismissed Lee’s call for his resignation by saying, "My resignation is a matter for candidate Ahn Cheol-soo to decide," and countered, "Both sides are making mistakes, so I criticized both; this is not a false equivalence."

Regarding the criticism that "Candidate Ahn is perceived as weak in debates," Choi emphasized, "He did very well when debating with me" and added, "(Candidate Ahn) is well-prepared and has excellent content, so I believe he will perform well in debates."

He also addressed his recent meetings with former People Power Party General Election Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in and People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, saying, "I just went to greet the two gentlemen," and stated that there were no discussions about opposition party unification.

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