[Interview with Former Assembly] Cheon Ha-ram "Decided to Run for Na Kyung-won's First-Term Joint Petition"

Lee Jun-seok prefers Malatang, Cheon Ha-ram prefers Jjajangmyeon
"Only queuing and loyalty competition remain"
"Ahn should unify with Cheon Ha-ram"

Editor's NoteThe candidate lineup for the People Power Party's March 8 leadership election has been finalized. Since this election will choose the party leader and supreme council members who will lead the party in next year's general parliamentary elections, competition among party leadership candidates has been fierce from the start. Asia Economy introduces the pledges and visions of each candidate who is striving to enter the ruling party's leadership.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] "If former party leader Lee Jun-seok is like 'Malatang' with an enthusiastic fandom, then I am Cheon Ha-ram, a politician like 'Jjajangmyeon'?something you can enjoy every day without getting tired or burdened."

Cheon Ha-ram, candidate for the People Power Party's March 8 leadership election and chairman of the Suncheon Gap party committee, recently said in an interview with Asia Economy, "I decided to run after hearing advice from seniors that meaningful political action was necessary as the party was falling apart."

Cheon said the decisive factor for his candidacy was the joint petition from first-term lawmakers. He explained, "More than the petition itself, I felt a strong sense of crisis seeing the lack of self-purification in response to such actions. Politics is about discovering new tasks, discussing visions, and making them a reality, but inside the party, it seemed like only lining up and loyalty competitions remained."

Interview_ Cheon Haram, People Power Party presidential candidate. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

As a lawyer, he stated, "If I wanted to be loyal, I would have gone to the prosecution. Coming to a political party means I want to freely express my opinions and discuss and compromise to talk about the community's future vision."

Cheon added, "I thought I would run for party leader if former lawmakers Na Kyung-won and Yoo Seung-min did not run, but I never imagined that would happen. However, both decided not to run."

Regarding his recent progress in various opinion polls, he described it as 'Cheon Ha Sam Bun Ji Gye' (天下三分之計), a strategy by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period to ally Shu with Wu against Wei. This refers to a three-way contest involving pro-Yoon candidate Kim Ki-hyun and Ahn Cheol-soo, who is in conflict with the pro-Yoon faction.

Interview_ Cheon Haram, People Power Party presidential candidate. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

First, he firmly drew a line regarding unification with candidate Ahn Cheol-soo. Cheon said, "If we were competing in reform, unification would be possible, but Ahn has shown no reformist stance at all. In this situation, unification would be a collusion." He continued, "Cheon Ha-ram's support votes cannot go to Ahn. Rather, Ahn's votes come from non-Yoon reform supporters as a second choice, so if Ahn wants to block Kim's election, unifying with Cheon would be a rational choice for the support base," showing confidence.

He also sharply criticized candidate Kim Ki-hyun. Regarding a lunch meeting with former lawmaker Na, he said, "I understand Kim is anxious because of his poll numbers, but I hope he stops pressuring Na. I worry that this oppressive behavior is being repeated instead of allowing Na to heal her emotional and political wounds and naturally extend a hand." About Kim's efforts to gather organizational votes, he said, "Party members will never do as the party committee chairman wants."

Cheon explained the reason behind his pledge to make party nomination exams mandatory: "I believe the public gave positive feedback that the exam process during the local elections was refreshing. This is not about becoming a party that excels at exams, but about becoming a party that at least meets minimum qualifications and studies."

He pledged to work hard to discover good new politicians. He said, "Former leader Lee emphasized selection and many audition brands emerged, but I plan to emphasize nurturing. I will institutionally support long-serving aides and party officials within the party to successfully transition into politicians."

If he becomes party leader, he said he would "not criticize the presidential office forcibly." Cheon emphasized, "If issues arise that fundamentally shake public trust, I will try to resolve them internally through communication. Ahead of the general election, we must meet the public's expectations, but I will communicate well with the presidential office and explain things carefully to minimize damage to personal trust."