Following Na Kyung-won, Attacking Ahn Cheol-soo... Ruling Party Faces 'Fake Yoon Support' Controversy Ahead of March 8 Convention

3·8 Party Convention Candidate Registration Begins
Pro-Yoon Faction Launches Full-Scale 'Yoonism' Offensive Against Ahn Cheol-soo
Ahn Cheol-soo "Feels Anxiety Over Opinion Polls"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] This time, the target is Assemblyman Ahn Cheol-soo. The March 8 party convention to elect the next leadership of the People Power Party was marred by internal conflicts from the candidate registration stage. Following former Assemblywoman Na Kyung-won’s declaration of non-candidacy after clashing with the presidential office and the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Suk-yeol) faction within the party, Assemblyman Ahn became the target of a crossfire from the pro-Yoon faction. The common factor is the public opinion poll support ratings. As both sides lead the party leadership race with support ratings surpassing Assemblyman Kim Ki-hyun, the so-called 'Yoon Sim' candidate favored by President Yoon Suk-yeol’s intentions, the pro-Yoon faction is trying to bring them down by branding them as 'fake Yoon Sim.'

Pro-Yoon faction Assemblyman Lee Cheol-gyu stated on MBC’s 'Kim Jong-bae’s Focus' on the 3rd that if Assemblyman Ahn becomes the party leader, it could weaken the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s governance. The day before, through his social media, Lee directly criticized Ahn, saying, "It is unsightly to see a fake Yoon judgment in action." Regarding Ahn’s claim of the 'Capital Region Representative Theory,' he said, "With next year’s election approaching, the idea that 'if I become leader, the party will expand and win the election, and if I don’t, the party will lose and not expand' is not something I can agree with," adding, "if the faction centered around Leader Ahn has won elections, that is not the case." This was a reference to Ahn’s defeat in the 2017 presidential election as the People’s Party candidate and his third-place finish in the 2018 Seoul mayoral election.

Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is registering as a candidate for party leader at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Earlier, President Yoon Suk-yeol dismissed former Assemblyman Kim Young-woo, who is the election campaign committee chairman for Assemblyman Ahn Cheol-soo’s party leadership race camp, from his position on the Presidential Committee for National Unity. Although the National Unity Committee requires neutrality, Kim was also serving as the head of a specific candidate’s campaign headquarters, making it inappropriate for him to continue holding the committee position. However, the dismissal came just one day after calls for Kim’s resignation, mainly from the pro-Yoon faction, further proving that Assemblyman Ahn is distanced from the 'Yoon Sim.'

The day before, the pro-Yoon faction within the party launched a barrage of attacks targeting Assemblyman Ahn. According to a nationwide indicator survey conducted by Embrain Public, K-stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research from the 30th of last month to the 1st of this month, surveying 1,001 men and women aged 18 and older (95% confidence level, margin of error ±3.1 percentage points, Central Election Commission reference), among People Power Party supporters (363 respondents), Assemblyman Ahn (34%) was identified as the most suitable candidate for the next party leader. Assemblyman Kim Ki-hyun followed far behind at 20%. This result reflects the strong 'Ahn Wind' literally, as Assemblyman Kim’s momentum was broken following former Assemblywoman Na Kyung-won’s withdrawal. With Na’s non-candidacy and even former Assemblyman Yoo Seung-min, a prominent 'non-Yoon (anti-Yoon Suk-yeol)' figure within the party, stepping down, it is analyzed that the non-proportional party sentiment has consolidated around Assemblyman Ahn. In this regard, Assemblyman Ahn said, "It seems the attacks against me are because they feel uneasy seeing the trend in the polls," emphasizing, "I hope we can compete with policies and visions on how to develop the party."

Meanwhile, on the first day of candidate registration for the People Power Party’s March 8 convention, seven candidates registered for the party leader position. Eleven candidates threw their hats in the ring for the four highest committee member positions, and five candidates registered for the youth highest committee member (one position).

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