Speculation on Na Kyung-won and Won Hee-ryong's Return... Kim Jong-in Calls Them "People of the Past"

Kim Jong-in "Lee Jun-seok's Nomination Is Normal for the Ruling Party"
Kim Woong "Among Existing Members, Someone Who Can Attract Metropolitan, Moderate, and Youth Voters"

Within the People Power Party, as the general election approaches in about seven months, the 'capital region crisis theory' is rapidly gaining traction, and there is growing public opinion that senior party members such as former lawmaker Na Kyung-won and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong should play a role in the election. However, there are also arguments that in the capital region, which is already at a disadvantage, it is more necessary to recruit non-Yoon (非尹) faction members like former leader Lee Jun-seok rather than senior members.

On the 29th, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party Kim Jong-in said on SBS's 'Pyeon Sang-wook's News Briefing,' "These are faces that have already passed their prime, and to think that these faces will gain new support from the people is nothing but a serious delusion," adding, "It is better to present fresh faces and be judged by the people."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The 'faces that have already passed their prime' pointed out by former emergency committee chairman Kim refer to former lawmaker Na and Minister Won. This is in response to the growing voices within the party expecting their roles amid the capital region crisis theory. On the 24th, People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun attended the founding event of Na's nonprofit organization and emphasized her role by saying, "You need a badge; you need a rank to get things done."

Minister Won is also expected to return soon, drawing attention to what role he will take on. On the previous day, People Power Party chief spokesperson Yoo Sang-beom said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "Whether it will be immediately after the regular National Assembly session or not, I expect his return to the party." Former lawmaker Na also said on CBS's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One' the day before, "Minister Won will definitely run. I think he will definitely do so. He may have other thoughts, but since he has been in politics, it is only natural that he will run again."

However, former emergency committee chairman Kim said that rather than assigning roles to senior members, the party should embrace the non-Yoon (非尹) faction. He said, "Former leader Lee was originally a member of the People Power Party and previously served as its leader, so there must be the magnanimity to properly embrace such people," adding, "Whether to use them as a strategy in next year's general election or not is a matter for the People Power Party leadership to decide."

He added, "Granting a nomination to former leader Lee is, in my view, a perfectly normal situation for the ruling party," and expressed concern, "If they decide not to nominate him, as he has always said, he will probably try to run in some form and enter the National Assembly." This implies that former leader Lee may forcibly run as an independent candidate.

Kim Woong, a People Power Party lawmaker classified as part of the non-Yoon and Yoo Seung-min factions, also sees embracing the non-Yoon faction within the party as important. On CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' he said, "All the newcomers were new faces, but after making them all old faces, if you try to bring in new faces again, will those new faces come in? They will become old faces in three years, become a tiny minority, and become people who criticize internally," adding, "Among the existing members, those who can attract the capital region, centrists, and youth should be entrusted with the election."

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