"Leaving the Party" vs "Support Until the End" An's 'Midterm Resignation' Confuses Supporters

Supporters Gather on People's Party Free Board
"Withdrawing 10 Years of Support," "Feeling Self-Disgust" Expressed
Some Voices Defend Saying "Regime Change Comes First"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Party, are shaking hands after concluding a unification press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the morning of the 3rd. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] On the 3rd, one day before early voting, Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, declared unification with Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, causing division among the People’s Party members. On that day, the People’s Party bulletin board was flooded with supporters expressing disappointment, saying "I will withdraw my support for candidate Ahn," which caused temporary access confusion. However, there were also those who said they would "watch until the end" and continued to support him.

On that day, the People’s Party homepage free bulletin board was filled with posts from party members asking how to withdraw from the party. The bulletin board was paralyzed for a while due to the sudden influx of users.

Supporters reacted strongly, saying things like, "I was a voter who supported and cheered for the full presidential race until the end, but is this how you repay my expectations?", "With this unification, Ahn’s political career ends here," "I will withdraw my support of 10 years. I am withdrawing my support for Ahn Cheol-soo," and "I will apply for withdrawal via email."

One supporter expressed frustration, saying, "Candidate Ahn declared that he would never unify directly, so what is this?" and "I never want to see him in politics again."

Criticism also poured in on Ahn’s YouTube channel, where the joint unification press conference video was uploaded. As of 6 p.m. that day, more than 8,000 comments had already been posted.

There were also dissatisfied reactions on 'Anflix,' a platform modeled after the global online video service (OTT) 'Netflix,' created by candidate Ahn.

A netizen who identified themselves as a voter who cast a ballot for candidate Ahn in the overseas Korean vote said, "I spent money and time to go all the way to the embassy to cast one more vote for candidate Ahn," and "I also painstakingly persuaded people around me, so what is this? I am really very disappointed."

Following Ahn's declaration of unification, the People's Party website saw confused reactions from supporters. While there were heated responses such as "I'm disappointed" and "I will leave the party," there were also messages of support saying "I will support you until the end." / Photo by People's Party Free Board Capture

In addition, criticism such as "betraying supporters’ trust," "don’t come back to politics," and "really disappointing" poured in.

However, some netizens sent support, saying, "It’s confusing and regrettable, but isn’t regime change more important? I think candidate Ahn sacrificed for the greater good," and "I believe candidate Ahn still has opportunities to play an active role."

Meanwhile, candidates Yoon and Ahn held a joint press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall that day and announced their unification.

The two candidates said, "We have agreed to unite for regime change as the beginning of making a better Republic of Korea, that is, a 'better regime change,'" and "We firmly believe without a shadow of a doubt that perfect regime change will be realized with today’s unification declaration."

They added, "We will definitely achieve regime change and prepare for an era of great transformation for the change and innovation of the Republic of Korea solely according to the will of the people."

In this regard, Yoon Young-hee, deputy spokesperson of the People’s Party Central Election Countermeasures Committee, said in a statement, "Candidate Ahn, who unified the opposition, resigned from his candidacy today and threw himself before the historic mission of better regime change," and "Just as candidate Ahn’s dedication in last year’s Seoul mayoral by-election restored hope to Seoul citizens, we will do our best for the people’s victory as a bridgehead for regime change in this presidential election."

She continued, "With candidate Ahn’s decision, the center and conservatives of Korea have united to create a bigger path toward the future and integration," and "We hope that all those who have walked the difficult third way with candidate Ahn under the banner of centrism will move unwaveringly toward the vast sea of change and innovation."

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