Hyeon Geuntaek: "Kim Gi-hyeon's 'Impeachment' Remark Reveals Yoon's Insecurity"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Hyun Geun-taek, Vice President of the Democratic Research Institute of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out that the presidential office's silence on candidate Kim Ki-hyun's remark about the 'impeachment of the president' during the ruling party's leadership election reveals President Yoon Seok-yeol's anxiety about impeachment.

On the 13th, Vice President Hyun said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The presidential office should have either warned candidate Kim Ki-hyun or publicly expressed anger, telling him to stop mentioning anything related to the president or the party, but it is currently silent."

Interview_Kim Ki-hyun, Candidate for the People Power Party Leader. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Candidate Kim made a statement that if a person with presidential ambitions becomes the party leader, a clash between current and future powers could lead to the president's impeachment, which led to demands for an apology from candidate Ahn Cheol-soo's camp. Candidate Chun Ha-ram also criticized Kim's remarks.

However, the presidential office has not made any particular remarks on this. Vice President Hyun said, "In a way, this means candidate Kim is currently anxious. Although there are claims that he is ahead, the reality is unconfirmed. However, many polls among supporters show candidate Ahn leading," adding, "Therefore, even when talk of party withdrawal or impeachment arises in the presidential office, they seem to tolerate it, thinking it might help gain votes or stimulate party members."

He continued, "The more it appears that way, the more it shows President Yoon is anxious. He is exposing that he might face impeachment, as he has experienced it himself, and thus harbors such anxiety," adding, "From the public's perspective, they might think, 'The president has been in office less than a year, and he is already worried about impeachment?'"

Professor Kim Geun-sik, former head of the Vision and Strategy Office of the People Power Party, also said, "As I mentioned earlier, bringing up impeachment was not an appropriate message from candidate Kim," adding, "Looking back at history, candidate Kim himself was the mayor of Ulsan at the time and was not free from the impeachment controversy, so there was no need to bring up such talk."