Cheon Ha-ram "People don't care who the appointed officials are... Kim Ki-hyun should step down"

BBS 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal' Interview
"General Election Defeat More Important Than Kim Ki-hyun's Retirement"

Cheon Haram, the People Power Party's Suncheon Gap district committee chairman, questioned the measures to recover from the Seoul Gangseo District Mayor by-election defeat, asking, "If the party's figurehead or the person ultimately responsible for decision-making does not change and only appointed party officials are replaced, what significant meaning can we offer to the public?"

On the 16th, during BBS Radio's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' Chairman Cheon commented on the decision for all appointed party officials to resign while maintaining Kim Ki-hyun's leadership, saying, "Do the public even know who the appointed party officials are? And are they really that interested in who the newly appointed officials are?"

Cheon Haram, Chairman of the People Power Party Suncheon Gap District Committee.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding Kim's statement that he would retire from politics if defeated in the general election, Cheon said, "What meaning is there in stepping down after losing the general election?" He added, "If there is a crushing defeat in the general election, it is highly likely to happen regardless of his wishes. Such statements don't hold much significance."

He continued, "A defeat in the general election means that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration will be unable to accomplish anything in its latter half, and the conservative camp will fall into a very difficult situation of consecutive defeats in general elections," emphasizing, "Is this equivalent to Kim Ki-hyun's retirement from politics? This is far more important than Kim's retirement."

Chairman Cheon stated, "It does not look good for the presidential office to push out a democratically elected party leader, and even if Kim takes responsibility, if people say 'Isn't this according to the president's will?' that would be bad as well," implying that Kim himself should make the decision to step down.

Regarding the opinion that there is no alternative but to maintain Kim's leadership, he said, "(The remaining) six months until the general election is not such a short time," adding, "I believe many people somewhat agree that it would be difficult to fight the general election under Kim Ki-hyun's leadership."

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