Overheating at the National Assembly... Impeachment Disputes, Interim Tally, and Badge Protests

An side "Unfair Distribution of Access Cards"
Kim side "One-sided Claim... Stubbornness"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] As the People Power Party's leadership race officially begins, the rivalry between the two frontrunners, candidate Ahn Cheol-soo and candidate Kim Ki-hyun, continues. This time, Ahn's campaign raised an issue, claiming that joint rally passes were unfairly distributed to Kim's supporters.

On the 15th, Ahn's '170V Campaign' Election Countermeasures Committee stated that the passes for the joint rally held in Busan the previous day were distributed disproportionately to supporters of a 'specific candidate,' and they raised the issue with the party's election management committee. Although Ahn's campaign did not explicitly name the candidate, the 'specific candidate' appears to refer to Kim.

On the morning of [date], Kim Ki-hyun and Ahn Cheol-soo, candidates for the 3rd People Power Party Convention, are seated at the Vision Presentation held at a broadcasting studio in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

In an official letter sent to the election committee, Ahn's campaign claimed, "Passes allowing entry to the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam joint rally were distributed to each city and provincial party branch," adding, "This encourages electioneering by out-of-office party branch chiefs, which is prohibited by the party's election committee." They argued that passes were concentrated among party members supporting Kim, putting them at a disadvantage.

Ahn's campaign further stated, "This method of distributing passes leads to party branch chiefs publicly declaring their preferred candidates," and emphasized, "This constitutes election interference by party branch chiefs."

In response, Kim's campaign dismissed the claims as arbitrary interpretations. On the same day, Chief Spokesperson Kim Si-gwan issued a statement saying, "These are unilateral claims by some supporters on-site," and countered, "Ahn's campaign's response of officially raising the issue with the election committee based on such claims is an excessive tantrum."

Meanwhile, although the People Power Party's leadership election has officially started, it seems unable to escape a mudslinging fight. Previously, the two frontrunners, Kim and Ahn, showed signs of overheating even before the preliminary primary. Recently, a fierce rivalry erupted over Kim's 'impeachment remarks.'

Kim mentioned, "If Ahn is elected, there is a possibility of presidential impeachment," to which Ahn fiercely criticized, saying, "If a party leader candidate is in a mental state to mention presidential impeachment, they cannot win the general election," intensifying the confrontation.

During this process, controversy arose over the presidential office's 'selective interference in party affairs.' While the presidential office issued a warning regarding Ahn's 'Yoon-Ahn alliance' (Yoon Seok-youl?Ahn Cheol-soo alliance) remarks, it refrained from commenting on Kim's impeachment remarks, stating, "This is not a matter for the presidential office to intervene in." Following the controversy, the presidential office stated on the 13th that "involving the president is inappropriate."

Leakage of preliminary primary poll interim results also became a controversy. On the 9th, when an internet media outlet reported that Kim was in first place but did not achieve a majority in the preliminary primary poll interim results, Ahn's side immediately protested and demanded disciplinary action. On the same day, Ahn's chief spokesperson Lee Jong-chul said in a commentary, "If a serious criminal act that undermines the foundation of party democracy is proven, immediate expulsion will be unavoidable."

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