"Concerns Over Ahn Cheol-soo Possibly Withdrawing Again"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won raised his voice, calling the impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, which was passed in the plenary session yesterday under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, "virtually the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol."
On the 9th, on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' former Director Park pointed out, "159 of our citizens lost their lives due to the government's mismanagement, yet for over 100 days, a joint memorial service could not be held, the president did not apologize, and the minister, who is the highest person responsible for safety management, was protected like a treasure."
He criticized, "If Minister Lee is that confident and capable, they could have dismissed him and later appointed him as prime minister," adding, "And how can the minister be so shameless? If his own family or children were among the 159 victims, would he still remain in that position?"
Regarding the People Power Party's leadership election, he said, "Needless to say, candidate Kim Ki-hyun will be elected," and questioned, "With President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife, and the Yoon core supporters causing such turmoil, how could candidate Kim not win?" He predicted that the four candidates passing the cut-off would be Kim Ki-hyun, Ahn Cheol-soo, Cheon Ha-ram, and Hwang Kyo-ahn.
He also raised the possibility of candidate Ahn's unification. Former Director Park said, "Candidate Ahn has about four weeks left, but he has been attacked, even with colorism (attacks). Given these attacks, it is suspicious whether Ahn, known for his specialty, will unify or withdraw with someone else."
He recounted an episode from the past when, during the People’s Party era, Ahn said he would inherit former President Kim Dae-jung’s Sunshine Policy, but later told reporters, "I do not engage in such diplomatic relations with North Korea; that is not the Sunshine Policy," signaling a break. He dismissed the colorism allegations against candidate Ahn. However, he added, "If you deny unification and resort to colorism, saying 'You cannot be a candidate,' and bring up such fundamental issues that can stimulate the peripheral nerves, I wonder if Ahn’s personality can endure that."
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