An "Presidential Office Participation Group Chat Election Campaign Participants Must Be Punished"

Ahn Cheol-soo, a candidate for the People Power Party's March 8 leadership election, responded to reports that presidential office administrators participated in a group chat where support for candidate Kim Ki-hyun and slander against himself took place, stating, "The responsible parties must be properly punished."

After a meeting at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 5th, Ahn told reporters, "Should those serving the president have acted like that?" He added, "I ask that these people be properly punished and that measures be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring."

He described the allegations as "something almost unimaginable in a democracy." He continued, "In fact, (Lee Jin-bok) the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs told candidates running in the leadership election 'not to say anything,' yet, on the contrary, presidential office administrators conducted biased election campaigning in their presence. This is completely hypocritical," he criticized.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

When asked if he felt any disappointment toward President Yoon Suk-yeol, Ahn replied, "What is happening now is disgraceful to the president," and added, "I believe the president when he said in his New Year's address that there is no 'Yoonism'."

That afternoon, Ahn's campaign held a press conference at the National Assembly demanding a statement from the presidential office. Chief spokesperson Lee Jong-cheol said, "If the reports are true, this not only undermines party democracy but also seriously violates the political neutrality obligation of public officials, constituting a grave legal offense." He added, "We have politely requested the presidential office to verify the facts, but it has been two days with no response or action."

Chief spokesperson Lee emphasized, "An investigation by the Presidential Office's Office of Public Official Discipline must be conducted, the results should be made public, and appropriate measures must be taken. It is necessary to clearly disclose how many such group chats were created and how they were operated, and to punish accordingly."