Min Young-sam "Cheon A Yongin, Drugs" Heo Eun-ah & Kim Yong-tae "Light and Salt"

Pro-June Seok Faction Should Be 'Legitimized' Statement
"Moon Core Supporter vs. Yoon Core Supporter"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Min Young-sam, a candidate for the Supreme Council member running in the People Power Party's March 8 party convention, sparked controversy on the 17th by referring to so-called pro-Lee Jun-seok faction candidates such as Kim Yong-tae and Heo Eun-ah as "drug-like entities" and arguing that they should be "legalized internally." Candidate Kim Yong-tae criticized Min by saying, "Are you appealing to Moon-hak-gwan and now appealing to Yoon-hak-gwan?" while candidate Heo Eun-ah requested, "Please speak carefully."

In a BBS Radio interview that day, Min belittled the pro-Lee Jun-seok faction candidates' strong performance as "a tempest in a teacup and chickens eating their own household," likening the party's healthy criticism forces to "drugs" and insisting that it should only be done in specific places.

Min Young-sam, People Power Party Supreme Council Member Candidate [Image source=Yonhap News]

Min said, "For example, Switzerland legalized drugs," adding, "There is only a thin line between harsh criticism and internal backstabbing." He continued, "There is a difference between going outside to make a political business and talk loudly and having fierce internal discussions to produce reports or give opinions."

In response, candidate Kim rebutted, "It seems that politics being like a drug is true for candidate Min." He said, "Just five years ago, in the 2018 local elections, Min ran for governor of Jeonnam Province as a member of the Democratic Peace Party, saying, 'President Moon Jae-in removed the curtain of inter-Korean confrontation, and I will remove the obstacles on the Jeonnam route of 100 years ago,'" adding, "At least I have never begged for votes by appealing to former President Moon Jae-in."

Kim added, "No matter how good power is, isn't it shameful to have claimed to be a Moon-hak-gwan supporter and now, five years later, claim to be a Yoon-hak-gwan supporter? If you rely on Yoon-hak-gwan in next year's general election and lose, where will you head next? It seems certain that 'resignation from the People Power Party' will be added to your record."

Heo Eun-ah, People Power Party Supreme Council Member Candidate
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Candidate Heo also stated, "It is not right to call healthy criticism a drug, but rather light and salt," adding, "For the future of the party and to protect intra-party democracy, reform candidates like Cheon Ah-yong have entered this party convention."

She continued, "If the distinction between harsh criticism and internal backstabbing is simply whether it is done inside or outside the party, it seriously belittles the voices of hundreds of thousands of party members who worry about the party's future and desire conservative innovation," and requested, "Please speak carefully so that the party convention, which should be a melting pot to fuse the diverse energies of all party members, does not become a place of division and subtraction."