Non-establishment Cheon Ha-ram Announces Candidacy for Party Leader... Passing the Cutoff Is Key

Cheon Haram, Chairman of the Jeonnam Suncheon Gap Party Committee, Scheduled to Register on the 3rd
Running as an Independent Candidate for Party Leader... Influence of Non-Yoon Faction

Cheon Ha-ram, Innovation Committee member of the People Power Party, is attending the Innovation Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Cheon Haram, former chairman of the People Power Party’s Suncheon Gap district committee in Jeonnam and a non-Yoon faction member, is running in the party leadership election scheduled for the 8th of next month. He is an independent candidate from the non-Yoon (Seok-yeol) faction.

According to ruling party sources on the 1st, Cheon will register as a candidate on the 3rd. He has solidified his intention to run for party leader and is beginning full-scale election preparations.

On the same day, when asked about his candidacy on MBC Radio’s "Kim Jong-bae’s Focus," Cheon responded, "Let’s wait and see. If I were to give a politician’s answer, I am always considering my role for the party and our politics."

It is reported that Cheon’s decision to run was made just one day after former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min announced he would not run on the 31st of last month.

Born in 1986 in Daegu, Cheon is a lawyer who graduated from Korea University’s Department of Law and its Law School. He served as a member of the People Power Party’s Innovation Committee during former leader Lee Jun-seok’s tenure.

With Cheon’s candidacy, the lineup of non-Yoon faction candidates close to former leader Lee Jun-seok is now complete. Other declared candidates include Assemblywoman Heo Eun-ah and former youth supreme council member Kim Yong-tae for supreme council positions, and Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly member Lee Gi-in for the youth supreme council.

The non-Yoon faction’s decision to field an independent candidate also reflects an intention to reveal the voting sentiment of the non-Yoon faction within the party. Lee’s camp estimates that out of the 800,000 People Power Party members, up to 200,000 support the non-Yoon faction.

The People Power Party leadership election will select four finalists through a preliminary cut-off. Whether Cheon passes the cut-off will gauge the non-Yoon faction’s standing. The preliminary election will be conducted via a public opinion poll targeting 6,000 responsible party members of the People Power Party.