Ruling Party Leadership Candidates Mention Lee Jae-myung... Simultaneously 'Criticize Kim Ki-hyun'

Ahn Cheol-soo "Preview of Next Year's General Election"
Cheon Ha-ram "No Real Estate That Can't Be Sold"
Hwang Kyo-ahn "This Is Not a Situation Solvable by Excuses"

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Youngwon Kim] The People Power Party's March 8 leadership election is being overshadowed by allegations of land speculation involving candidate Kim Gi-hyeon in Ulsan. As candidates Ahn Cheol-soo, Chun Ha-ram, and Hwang Kyo-ahn intensify their attacks citing the need for verification against Kim, who leads in opinion polls, criticism is mounting that the race has taken on a negative tone. Kim is responding firmly, mentioning possible 'legal action' against his rivals.

On the 23rd, at a joint speech event held at the Hongcheon Indoor Gymnasium in Gangwon Province, candidate Hwang told reporters, "When I tell candidate Kim to withdraw, he asks why we are fighting," adding, "I have no intention to fight. We must protect our free Republic of Korea and our party," referencing Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. He said, "How much suffering must one endure when running for party leader amid all sorts of allegations?" and added, "Our party leader must be clean and without blemish. There should be no such suspicions, and from that perspective, Kim is currently not suitable as party leader."

Regarding Kim's press conference about the Ulsan land earlier that day, Hwang also said, "This is not a situation that can be resolved with explanations or excuses," and pointed out, "It is not the time to argue about right or wrong but to follow the will of the people."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Candidate Ahn also said, "I think this shows a preview of next year's general election," adding, "If Kim becomes party leader, the Democratic Party will continue to intensify their attacks until the general election ends." He continued, "I have heard that there are still many cards that have not been shown," and added, "I am really worried. I believe the party leader must be someone who will not be vulnerable to any attacks and who can win not only the competition against the Democratic Party in the general election but also the competition in morality and dedication."

In his speech that day, Ahn directly criticized Kim, saying, "Isn't morality the core of conservatism? From that perspective, Kim is not the right person." He questioned, "Just as the regime changed because people could not vote for Lee Jae-myung, who caused the Daejang-dong scandal in last year's presidential election, can the people properly vote for Kim Gi-hyeon, who has real estate allegations, as party leader?" Some of Kim's supporters booed Ahn's remarks.

Candidate Chun criticized Kim's press conference, saying it only fueled the controversy and that none of the allegations have been resolved. Chun said, "Is there any real estate that cannot be sold in this world?" and pointed out, "If the price is set appropriately and it needs to be sold quickly, it can be sold even at a slightly lower price. Saying it is difficult to sell is nonsense because there are people lined up to buy." He added, "Chun Ha-ram, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Yong-tae, and Lee Gi-in have already said we will create a special purpose company (SPC) and a fund to buy it," and said, "If it is sold, the risk of candidate Kim will not become the risk of our party or the leadership election risk, and it will be resolved early."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After the joint speech event that day, candidate Kim stated that he has no intention of selling the land. He said, "I have said this several times," adding, "This is not land bought to sell. I plan to continue living there and utilizing it after retirement."

At a press conference that morning, Kim said, "Is it acceptable to recklessly spread absurd claims that the land price increased 1,800 times because a tunnel was opened?" He warned, "If there are people who continue to spread false information or raise groundless suspicions, I will have no choice but to consider legal action."

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