Cheon Ha-ram: "'An, who said 'I will resign after the general election,' admitted communication issues with Yoon"

"I am close to Lee Jun-seok, so Yoon might feel uncomfortable"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Cheon Ha-ram, a candidate from the 'Lee Jun-seok faction' running in the People Power Party leadership election, criticized Ahn Cheol-soo's remark that he would "resign after the general election," saying it "acknowledges that there is a communication problem with the president." He emphasized that although President Yoon Seok-yeol might feel uncomfortable with him due to his relationship with former leader Lee Jun-seok, their relationship itself was good.

On the 16th, Cheon said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' program, "Is (Ahn's remark) that after the general election, he will immediately prepare for the presidential election? That’s the impression I got," expressing his view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He explained, "It seems he is admitting that his usual relationship with the president is not very good and that communication is poor. I think this statement was very unfavorable," adding, "Even if there are problems in the relationship with the president, he is basically saying, 'Please choose me because I will somehow carry the party through image politics until the election. After that, I will leave cleanly.'"

He continued, "What’s hidden there is the idea that 'the president probably doesn’t like me,' but until recently, he was appealing for Yoon’s support, so this is somewhat contradictory," and pointed out, "This raises questions like, 'So what are you trying to do?' and whether he lacks confidence in leading the party smoothly and stably, which will likely draw criticism."

Cheon emphasized, "I have no intention of becoming the next presidential candidate. I am already growing rapidly, and at age 40, it’s a close call, but I have no ambition to become the next presidential candidate by acting as the opposition within the ruling party," adding, "I also have no intention of becoming a decorative party leader who is only used for election purposes and then discarded."

Regarding his relationship with President Yoon, he said, "Since former leader Lee Jun-seok and I are currently perceived as close, and he strongly supports and endorses me, the president might feel a bit uncomfortable," adding, "Even after the presidential election, we eat together well and are not on bad terms. At the very least, I am a candidate with consistency in the president’s eyes. I won’t suddenly stab him in the back later."

He highly evaluated candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn, saying, "As long as he doesn’t talk about election fraud, the debates are very good. Of course, I raise issues with his excessive use of ideological arguments, but I thought his raising of various suspicions and other points was very good," and added, "If it continues like this, the runoff might even be between Cheon Ha-ram and Hwang Kyo-ahn."

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