Most Presidential Candidates Complete Registration by Morning of the 2nd
Kim Byung-min and Lee Yong Officially Announce Candidacy for Supreme Council Member... 11 Registered
Five Youth Supreme Council Member Candidates... Intense Rivalry Emerges
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] On the first day of candidate registration for the People Power Party's March 8 party convention, seven candidates registered for the party leader position on the 2nd. Eleven candidates challenged for the four supreme councilor positions, and five candidates registered for the single youth supreme councilor seat.
The People Power Party Election Commission announced that these figures were tallied as a result of accepting applications on the first day of candidate registration for the party leader and supreme councilor elections. Candidate registration will continue until 5 p.m. on the 3rd, and a preliminary primary (cutoff) will be held for the selected candidates after qualification screening at the Election Commission meeting on the 5th.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is registering as a candidate for party leader at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
The seven candidates registered for the party leader position are lawyer Kang Shin-up, president of First Lady Kim Geon-hee's fan club; Representative Kim Ki-hyun of the People Power Party; former youth supreme councilor Kim Jun-gyo of the Liberty Korea Party; Representative Ahn Cheol-soo; Representative Yoon Sang-hyun; Representative Cho Kyung-tae; and former Future United Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn.
The eleven candidates registered for the supreme councilor positions include Kim Se-ui, CEO of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute; former youth supreme councilor Kim Yong-tae; former People Power Party Representative Kim Jae-won; former presidential campaign national integration special advisor Min Young-sam; Shin Hae-sik, CEO of Internet Independent Newspaper; Representative Lee Man-hee; former presidential transition team leader Lee Yong; writer Jeong Dong-hee; former Representative Jeong Mi-kyung; former supreme councilor candidate Cheon Gang-jeong; and Representative Tae Young-ho.
The five candidates registered for the youth supreme councilor position are Kim Young-ho, former aide to Representative Jang Je-won; Seo Won-yeol, participant in the "I am the National Team" policy contest; Lee Uk-hee, Chungbuk Provincial Council member; Jang Ye-chan, former head of the Youth Communication TF of the Presidential Transition Committee; and Representative Ji Sung-ho.
Youth Supreme Councilor Candidate Jang Ye-chan Registers as First Candidate
On that day, candidates who officially declared their intention to run for party leader and supreme councilor positions began arriving at the People Power Party central office early in the morning. Youth supreme councilor candidate Jang Ye-chan was the first to complete registration around 8 a.m., and Representative Tae Young-ho also registered as a supreme councilor candidate. Representative Lee Man-hee, a floor supreme councilor candidate, visited the party office at 1:30 p.m. to register. Among the party leadership candidates, Representative Ahn Cheol-soo arrived at the party office at 9 a.m., followed by Representative Cho Kyung-tae at 9:30 a.m., and Representative Kim Ki-hyun at 10 a.m. Former party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn and Representative Yoon Sang-hyun, who visited former President Park Geun-hye’s residence in Daegu on her birthday, completed registration through proxies.
Declarations to run for supreme councilor continued. Representative Lee Yong and former emergency committee member Kim Byung-min (chairman of the Gwangjin-gap party committee) held a press conference at the National Assembly communication center to officially announce their candidacies. Representative Lee, who served as a presidential candidate and transition team member for President Yoon Suk-yeol, stated, "As someone who knows the president best and can communicate anytime and anywhere, I will become the People Power Party leadership and ensure the government established by the wishes of party members and the people is protected and succeeds."
Former emergency committee member Kim expressed confidence in his role for winning the general election. He said, "If I can secure a general election victory in my hometown, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, where I was born and raised, our party will be able to properly secure a majority of seats," adding, "I will devote myself to discovering young leaders who will lead the general election victory."
Earlier that morning, the party's Emergency Committee also formed the nomination management committee for the April 5 by-elections. The committee chair is Secretary-General Kim Seok-ki, with Vice-Chairs Lee Yang-su and Eom Tae-young, Chief Spokesperson Yang Geum-hee, and Kim Kyung-an, chairman of the Jeonbuk Iksan-si Gap party committee, serving as members. Additionally, the party appointed Kim Jin-mo, chairman of the Chungbuk Chungju Seowon party committee, as a new election commissioner for the March 8 party convention election management committee.
Supreme Councilor Candidates’ Sharp Exchanges: "Lee Jun-seok Cannot Be Sponsorship Chairman" vs. "I Did Nothing"
Sharp exchanges also occurred among supreme councilor candidates. Representative Park Sung-joong, who is running for supreme councilor, said at a press conference at the National Assembly communication center in the afternoon, "There have been media reports that former leader Lee Jun-seok intends to serve as the sponsorship chairman for certain supreme councilor candidates and has effectively declared his participation in the party leader election by touring nationwide during the election period through his book publication," adding, "According to party rules and regulations, Lee, who does not have voting rights, cannot campaign or serve as a sponsorship chairman." It is known that former leader Lee will serve as the sponsorship chairman for former supreme councilor Kim Yong-tae and former Representative Heo Eun-ah, both running for supreme councilor.
Lee Jun-seok immediately rebutted Representative Park’s press conference remarks. On Facebook, he wrote, "Did Lee Jun-seok urge anyone not to run? Did Lee Jun-seok arbitrarily change the rules? Surprisingly, Lee Jun-seok did nothing. Let's get a grip," He had previously stated at his own supreme councilor candidacy press conference, "If the former leadership led by Lee Jun-seok has any conscience, they should give up running."
Representative Lee Yong’s remarks during his candidacy process were also criticized by Representative Ahn Cheol-soo’s camp. After his candidacy announcement, Representative Lee told reporters, "In the case of Representative Ahn, I have doubts about whether the unification process was genuinely for the birth of the Yoon government without any conditions, rather than for his own political interests."
In response, Lee Jong-cheol, chief spokesperson for Ahn Cheol-soo’s campaign, commented, "To say the presidential unification was not sincere and now resort to mind-reading is too much," adding, "The unification achievements with candidate Oh Se-hoon in 2021 and candidate Yoon Seok-yeol in 2022 will be evaluated by party members."
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