Kim Ki-hyun "Ahn Cheol-soo, since the nomination is complete, no need for a representative"

"'Just declare you won't run for president...'"

'[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Regarding Ahn Cheol-soo's declaration during the previous day's People Power Party leadership election TV debate that he would step down as party leader if the party wins the general election, his competitor Kim Ki-hyun criticized, saying, "He is resigning because he has achieved all his goals (nomination)." He also strongly criticized the recent controversy over the voting passes, saying, "He is causing trouble because he did not give passes to his supporters."

On the 16th, on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Candidate Kim said, "The nominations are all done, and the election is over, so there is no need to continue leading. This is just like covering one's eyes and pretending not to see," he said.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "He should just declare that he will not run for the presidency, but I don't understand why he keeps doing things that can be seen as evasive tricks," and questioned, "If the next party leader loses the general election, how can he continue in politics, let alone hold party leadership?"

He continued, "He is running an election campaign based on his own position and his region (the metropolitan area), but next year's general election is not about Candidate Ahn being the main figure; it is about whether President Yoon Seok-youl has done well or not, and that is the main theme and the main figure," he added.

Candidate Kim also criticized Ahn's side for being obsessed with a 'negative' and 'mud-slinging' strategy. Referring to the issue raised by Ahn's side regarding the distribution of voting passes during the recent joint debate, he pointed out, "A joint debate is not a place to gather your supporters and mobilize a cheering squad, but a place to visit each region and gather party members residing there to present the candidates' platforms," and said, "Therefore, it is natural to allocate attendees by each party branch and have them attend the joint speech meeting, which has always been done, but they are causing trouble because they did not give passes to their supporters."

He added, "Since they have continued in a form like a one-person party and have not run in a proper leadership election of a major party, they either did not know how a major party operates or, knowing full well, thought that the only way to win was to keep trying to find faults," and criticized, "They have lost every election they have entered, and now I understand why they lost."