Hwang Kyo-ahn Directly Hits Kim Ki-hyun: "A Party Leader Full of Suspicions Cannot Prepare for the General Election"

Hwang Kyo-ahn, a candidate for the People Power Party's March 8 leadership election and former leader of the United Future Party, commented on March 1 regarding allegations about his competitor Kim Ki-hyun's 'Ulsan land' issue, saying, "Party members will make a sober judgment on whether they can prepare for the next general election by electing a party leader who engages in politics that members expect and who has many suspicions."

Hwang Kyo-ahn, the candidate for the leader of the People Power Party, is being interviewed on the 10th at the election situation room in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the same day, Hwang appeared on BBS Radio and stated, "Party members will make a wise decision in terms of winning the general election and protecting President Yoon Seok-yeol."

Regarding Kim's explanation of the 'Ulsan land' allegations, he pointed out, "My question was about how this (KTX route) road was bent. The originally planned options 1, 2, and 3 were in different locations away from Kim's land," adding, "Without much explanation, all three options were suddenly discarded, and the route came onto Kim's land. At that time, the mayor of Ulsan was Park Maeng-woo from our party, not Song Cheol-ho from the Democratic Party." He also said, "Kim keeps talking about other things without answering my question."

Hwang also addressed Mr. A, who sold the land to Kim, saying, "I don't know what kind of business he was in, but he said his business was struggling and sold the large 35,000-pyeong land to Kim just 11 days after buying it," and argued, "If Kim keeps trying to explain, he will end up lying, and more things will be exposed later. Instead of doing that, he should resign now."

Regarding Kim's decision to request an investigation by the National Investigation Headquarters, Hwang retorted, "If he is confident, he should sue me directly, not ask the National Investigation Headquarters to investigate." He added, "The Democratic Party will reveal one thing after another to provoke public anger right before the general election. How can he handle that?" and urged Kim to resign, saying, "There are many other issues, mostly related to Ulsan land. Since he doesn't want those to be exposed, it's right to settle now."

When asked if he would form an alliance if Kim advanced to the runoff vote, Hwang said, "Whether I like it or not, if someone is confirmed as our party leader, of course, I have to support them," and added, "If Kim becomes the party leader in the runoff, I will help him."

Regarding the responsibility for the poor personnel screening following the dismissal of lawyer Jeong Soon-shin as head of the National Investigation Headquarters, Hwang said, "Those who conducted the screening should take responsibility," but dismissed calls for the dismissal of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, saying, "Responsibility should be assigned to the screening team. If all problems at the lower levels are blamed on the higher-ups, how can a minister perform their duties?"