Kim Moonsoo Meets Ahn Cheolsoo: "We Must Join Forces"... Ahn Stresses "Party Needs Reform, Must Sever Ties with Yoon"

Kim Moonsoo, a candidate who advanced to the runoff in the People Power Party leadership election, held a luncheon meeting on the 23rd with Assemblyman Ahn Cheolsoo, who was eliminated in the first round of the primary, at a restaurant in Yeouido.

People Power Party leader candidate Kim Munsu and Assemblyman Ahn Cheolsu are meeting at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News

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Kim, who is part of the anti-impeachment (against the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol) faction, is seen as reaching out to absorb support from Ahn, who is part of the pro-impeachment faction, ahead of the mobile and ARS voting and public opinion survey of party members with voting rights scheduled for August 24-25.

After the meeting, Kim told reporters, "We mainly discussed how we should join forces to win next year's local elections."

Regarding an official alliance, Kim said, "Assemblyman Ahn does not have a particular organization, so we simply confirmed that cooperation within the People Power Party is necessary to build a better Korea."

Kim also said he could accept Ahn's proposal to create a presidential election white paper as part of party reforms. Regarding Assemblyman Cho Kyungtae, who was also eliminated in the first round along with Ahn, Kim said, "I don't have plans to meet him, but I did call to thank him for his efforts," adding, "Since our party has a diversity of opinions, I emphasized that we need to join forces to win next year's local elections."

Ahn drew a line against interpreting this meeting as a declaration of support, and instead emphasized the need to sever ties with former President Yoon.

Ahn told reporters, "This meeting was not to declare support for another candidate," and added, "I simply wanted to say that our party must innovate and sever ties with former President Yoon and those who defend martial law."

When asked about Kim's response to his call to break with Yoon, Ahn said, "He just listened," and emphasized, "Rather than trying to accept those who defend impeachment for the sake of unity and stirring up conflict, it would actually be wiser for the anti-impeachment faction to leave and form their own party."

Regarding his failure to advance to the runoff, Ahn said, "I was somewhat shocked that, even though the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled in favor of impeachment, more than half of the members still do not accept it," and added, "This is not the direction our party should be heading."

Kim and Jang will face off in the runoff vote, and the final winner will be determined on August 26.

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