[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who declared she would not run, has effectively thrown her support behind candidate Kim Ki-hyun, forming the 'Kim-Na Alliance (Kim Ki-hyun-Na Kyung-won)'. Meanwhile, candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who had persistently courted her, now finds his position ambiguous. Na's camp openly stated that "support is difficult." The rising approval ratings of Cheon Ha-ram, who claims to be 'anti-Yoon' and is part of the 'Lee Jun-seok faction,' is also a concerning factor.
Park Jong-hee, former lawmaker representing former lawmaker Na Kyung-won's camp, said on the 8th on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' that "Former lawmaker Na finds it difficult to support candidate Ahn Cheol-soo." This is due to party members harboring doubts about Ahn's political background, which includes founding a party, leaving it, and merging repeatedly, leading them to question, 'Is he really one of our party members?'
Park said, "There is a slight difference between how the general public views our party's candidate Ahn and how party members see him," adding, "Those who have observed Ahn's inability to integrate into the party, his repeated candidacies and withdrawals, and various other processes have a somewhat different level of trust or perception towards him."
Candidate Ahn had sent love calls to former lawmaker Na, but with Na actually joining hands with candidate Kim, Ahn has become like 'a dog chasing a chicken.' Although Ahn still holds first place in multiple opinion polls, if Na officially supports Kim, changes in approval ratings could become visible.
Shin Pyeong, a lawyer who was the chairman of Kim Ki-hyun's support committee but resigned due to controversy over his 'president leaving the party' remarks, also hinted at the existence of the so-called 'Kim-Na Alliance' on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that day, saying, "These two have clearly declared an anti-Ahn Cheol-soo alliance, and going forward, former lawmaker Na will assist candidate Kim in some form."
Ahn's theme stock, AhnLab, recorded 82,000 won as of 10 a.m. on the 8th, down 2% from the previous day. This is nearly a 20% drop from the intraday high of 102,500 won on the 26th, the day after former lawmaker Na declared she would not run. Money does not lie. This shows how uncertain his position currently is.
The rising approval ratings of candidate Cheon, who claims to be anti-Yoon, is also a threat. Former party leader Lee Jun-seok, who supports Cheon, posted a poll on his social media and raised his voice about the 'three-way race.'
Lee also said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' that "Candidate Ahn's election support rate is always highest at the start. For those who like professional baseball, there is a somewhat outdated term called DTD," arguing that Ahn's approval ratings will continue to decline. DTD is a Konglish term meaning 'Down Team is Down,' implying that teams destined to fall will fall. Even if they shine briefly at the start, their true strength shows in the mid-to-long term.
Candidate Cheon pressured Ahn to clarify whether he is 'pro-Yoon' or 'anti-Yoon.' He said, "Candidate Ahn seems to be wavering a bit right now," pointing out, "He criticized the Yoon core group, but when told 'Don't use Yoon-Ahn alliance, don't use Yoon core group,' he said he wouldn't use those terms anymore."
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