Ahn's Side Kim Young-woo: "Cheon Ha-ram Cannot Escape Lee Jun-seok's Shadow"

"Likely Difficult to Conclude in the First Round of Voting"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former lawmaker Kim Young-woo, who serves as the campaign committee chairman for Ahn Cheol-soo, evaluated Cheon Ha-ram, a candidate from the 'Lee Jun-seok faction,' saying he is "conscious of him" but also that "he does not seem to escape the shadow of former leader Lee Jun-seok."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 17th, Kim said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' program, "Even during the broadcast debate, without anyone asking, he kept saying things like 'I am different from Lee Jun-seok,' 'I will surpass Lee Jun-seok,' over and over again."

During the broadcast debate, candidate Cheon compared himself to the travel YouTuber 'GwakTube' and described his relationship with former leader Lee as the relationship between 'PaniBottle and GwakTube.' GwakTube gained recognition by appearing on the PaniBottle channel but is now considered more famous than PaniBottle.

Kim said, "By even mentioning someone like GwakTube, it shows how difficult it is for him to escape the shadow of former leader Lee himself," adding, "Although Lee had some issues while serving as party leader, his messaging skills and situational analysis were very good. Cheon is also an excellent young politician, but whether he can surpass Lee is something I have some doubts about."

Candidate Cheon is confident that he will surpass candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, advance to the runoff, and secure 60% of the votes. Kim said, "Politicians always say things like that," adding, "Ultimately, as time goes on, it will narrow down to Ahn Cheol-soo versus Kim Ki-hyun." He also added that since there are four candidates, it is realistically difficult for the election to end in the first round.

Regarding whether Cheon's supporters will shift their votes to candidate Ahn in the runoff, Kim said, "I cannot be sure," and emphasized, "During the remaining campaign period, especially how effectively they appeal to the younger generation and deliver their message is very important."