"The Enemy Within Is Sectarianism"... Condemnation Continues Amid Na Kyung-won's Absence

Jung Jin-seok "Na Kyung-won Very Inappropriate"
Na Kyung-won Absent from Daejeon Party Event
Kim Ki-hyun and Other Party Leadership Candidates Target Daejeon Voters

[Daejeon=Asia Economy, Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] On the afternoon of the 18th, the New Year's greeting event held by the People Power Party Daejeon City Party in Jung-gu, Daejeon was heated with supporters holding placards with phrases such as 'Party Leader is Hwang Kyo-ahn' and 'Kim Ki-hyun loves the People Power Party' from the entrance.

At the event, criticism continued over former lawmaker Na Kyung-won's statement that President Yoon Seok-yeol's dismissal of her from the position of Vice Chairperson of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee and Climate Environment Ambassador was not his true intention, calling it inappropriate.

Jung Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, said at the event, "To defeat the Democratic Party, we must be wary of internal enemies, and the internal enemy is divisiveness," adding, "If we unite tightly, we can surely achieve victory. I hope this party convention becomes a festival for the party members who are the owners of the party, and that everyone reaches a consensus to become one." This was aimed at the division caused by the clash between former lawmaker Na and Presidential Secretary Kim Dae-gi over President Yoon's true intention remarks the previous day.

After the event, Jung told reporters, "(Former lawmaker Na's) evaluation that the president's dismissal decision was not the president's true intention and her new analysis were very inappropriate," adding, "It is disrespectful and rude to the president."

On the 18th, Chung Jin-seok, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, party leadership candidates, and Lee Jang-woo, Mayor of Daejeon, cut rice cakes together at the New Year's greeting event held at the party office in Jung-gu, Daejeon. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Jung further pointed out, "There are many opinions within the party that Na's evaluation is inappropriate," and said, "We should not keep involving the president. It is enough to clearly state one's political plan fairly, and it is undesirable to keep involving the president for one's political position."

The day before, 50 first-term lawmakers of the People Power Party issued a statement urging former lawmaker Na to officially apologize to President Yoon Seok-yeol. Jung said, "It would have been better if former lawmaker Na had behaved more amicably to prevent collective issues from arising."

While former lawmaker Na was contemplating running for party leader, lawmaker Kim, whose approval ratings are rising, also evaluated Na's words and actions negatively. After the Daejeon City Party event, Kim told reporters, "President Yoon has achieved many economic and diplomatic successes during his overseas trips, but I think it is inappropriate that these achievements are overshadowed by various controversies domestically."

Kim Ki-hyun "Harmony with the President" VS Hwang Kyo-ahn "Return the Party to the Members" VS Yoon Sang-hyun "Driving Force for Metropolitan Area Victory"

At the Daejeon City Party event, the party leader candidates appealed for support by emphasizing their respective strengths. Kim, who was the first to take the microphone among the candidates, said, "We consider winning the next year's general election an urgent and essential task, and to win, we must establish a good strategy," adding, "Strategy means having a clear understanding of the direction we must go in harmony with the president, speaking with one voice, and moving forward as a united body." As a 'pro-Yoon' candidate, he emphasized his close relationship with the president.

Former party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn pledged to "return the party to the members." Hwang said, "There are truly excellent talents, but only a few seem to be leading the party, so we have not been able to exert great strength. Now, I believe responsible party members must become the owners of the party," adding, "The head of the Yeouido Research Institute or the Central Training Institute can be a member of the National Assembly, but it can also be someone with expertise among responsible party members who are not lawmakers. The party must be centered on responsible party members."

On the afternoon of the 18th, supporters of the party leader candidates are holding placards with individual cheering messages ahead of the New Year's greeting meeting held at the People Power Party Daejeon City Party Headquarters in Jung-gu, Daejeon.

Lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun emphasized "victory in the metropolitan area." Yoon has been elected four consecutive times only in Incheon. He said, "The metropolitan area elections are really difficult; there are a total of 121 seats in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, but our party holds about 17 seats," adding, "Having experienced all the ups and downs in the metropolitan area, I, Yoon Sang-hyun, will definitely play the role of a driving force for victory in the metropolitan area."

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Na was originally scheduled to attend the event but reportedly did not participate due to strong opposition within the party.

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