[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As former lawmakers Na Kyung-won and Yoo Seung-min have declared they will not run, solidifying the ruling party's leadership race into a two-horse race between Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Ki-hyun, the tension between the two sides is turning into a mudslinging fight even before candidate registration has begun. Within the ruling party, there are criticisms that "instead of drawing a big picture, they are engaging in trivial fights."
Hong Joon-pyo, the party's standing advisor and mayor of Daegu, raised his voice on his social media on the 1st, saying, "If this is a party leader election, it is hard to tolerate the childishness of arguing over one-off incidents without thinking about presenting a grand plan on how to serve the country and the party in the future. Get a grip. With such childishness, party members will not see either as a suitable party leader."
This was a criticism of the ongoing mutual attacks between party leadership candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Ki-hyun, who have been targeting each other over things like each other's 'Namjin-Kim Yeon-koung certification photos' and 'holey socks.' Ahn criticized Kim's certification photo controversy, saying, "If such an incident happens even once during the election period, that election is doomed," while Kim pointed out Ahn's holey socks, harshly asking, "Are you that poor?"
The People Power Party's leadership race candidate registration will take place over two days starting from the 2nd. Even before the official leadership race begins, the leading candidates seem to be engaged more in a power struggle than a vision competition. This is largely due to former lawmakers Na and Yoo, who have presidential-level name recognition, deciding not to run, solidifying the race into a two-horse contest. The pool of party leader candidates is expected to remain in the single digits, including Ahn, Kim, Yoon Sang-hyun, Cho Kyung-tae, and former United Future Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn.
As a result, within the ruling party, there are criticisms that the leadership candidates are engaging in trivial fights by nitpicking each other rather than drawing a big picture to win the hearts of party members. Shin In-kyu, leader of People Power Party's Baroseugi (Straightening Up) faction, pointed out on social media, "If there is still no vision or value coming out while the leadership race is in full swing, this is serious," highlighting the 'vision loss' situation. Jo Won-jin, leader of Our Republican Party, criticized on the YouTube program 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' saying, "We have to watch Ahn Cheol-soo's sock show and Kim Ki-hyun's acquaintance show. Is politics allowed to go like this?" He added, "How frustrated must they be to take a photo with Mr. Namjin, whom Kim doesn't really know, and for Ahn to hold up his socks? I think they must be really frustrated."
Jang Sung-chul, director of the Public Opinion Center, criticized both Ahn and Kim on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon.' He said to Ahn, "It was not just excessive but insulting. A person with assets of 300 billion won wearing holey socks," and to Kim, "His greed was excessive. One photo, one word can have a big impact."
Meanwhile, the People Power Party will accept candidate registrations on the 2nd and 3rd, announce preliminary candidates who pass document screening on the 5th, hold preliminary elections for the cut-off on the 8th and 9th, and announce the final candidates on the 10th.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
