Controversy Over 'Bareun Party Faction's Support for Kim Gi-hyeon' Spreads... "False List" Full-Scale Offensive

Former Bareun Party's Lee Gi-in "A Hastily Made Happening"
Ahn Cheol-soo Camp "Declaration of Support for Gonggalppang"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Controversy is growing as former Bareun Party figures issued a statement supporting Kim Ki-hyun, a candidate for the People Power Party leadership election.

Lee Ki-in, a youth supreme council candidate from the Bareun Party, refuted the claims point by point as "lies," and other leadership candidates launched a barrage of attacks against Kim.

On the 22nd, Lee stated on his Facebook, "From the perspective of Lee Ki-in, a former Bareun Party member, Kim Ki-hyun's declaration of support from Bareun Party district committee chairpersons is, in one word, a 'lie.'"

Kim Ki-hyun, a candidate for the leader of the People Power Party, is attending a press conference for the endorsement of the 'Barun Politics Meeting,' a gathering of former Bareun Party district committee chairpersons, held on the morning of the 20th at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Lee said, "If you closely examine the list released by Kim Ki-hyun's election campaign committee, you can quickly see that it is a hastily concocted event," adding, "Expanding the base cannot be achieved just by attaching a name. When people who are not even involved are falsely labeled as former Bareun Party members and taken hostage, the intention is quickly exposed."

He further explained, "The Daegu Buk district committee chairperson is Hwang Young-heon. The aforementioned Jang Gap-ho was the Daegu Buk district committee chairperson of the People's Party. The Suwon district committee chairperson of this organization is also from the People's Party, not the Bareun Party," and added, "The first listed Lee Jung-sun is not a district committee chairperson but a political appointee party official, and former policy director Park Won-kwan is a party secretariat official, so neither falls under the category of district committee chairpersons. Kim Deok-su was never a Pohang district committee chairperson during the Bareun Party period, and Gu Bon-hang, the Daegu Buk Gap district chairperson, also stated he has no intention of supporting candidate Kim Ki-hyun."

Lee then pointed out, "Looking at these lists, I understand why Kim Ki-hyun's campaign initially tried to hide these names," adding, "They were hastily assembled and the lists are inaccurate."

On the 20th, the 'Bareun Politics Group,' composed of former Bareun Party district committee chairpersons, declared support for Kim at the National Assembly. Initially, they did not release the list because some members were reluctant to reveal their names, but after an 'anonymous support declaration' caused controversy, Kim's side disclosed a list of about 30 people the day before.

Another former Bareun Party member, Lee Jun-seok, former People Power Party leader, also criticized on Facebook the same day, saying, "Kim seems to have made no progress from the 'man with flowers' incident involving Kim Yeon-kyung and Nam Jin, which only burdened them," and added, "It seems that gathering forced support declaration lists like this is an election strategy, but even the names on the list are sometimes incorrect."

Yoon Young-hee, spokesperson for Ahn Cheol-soo's campaign, also commented, "I thought it was just a 'bluff' support declaration inflating numbers, but it turned out the list was fabricated and falsified, a 'bluff' support declaration," and criticized, "Politics should not use people as tools. This is the worst kind of old-fashioned politics."

Kim's camp drew a line, saying, "This is something to confirm with the Bareun Politics Group." After the 'Ulsan-Jeonnam Win-Win Development Agreement Ceremony' held at the National Assembly that day, Kim told reporters, "I did not prepare the list, nor did I organize the press conference," adding, "They (the Bareun Politics Group) said they support me, so I just went to thank them. I do not know how things are proceeding."

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