"President's Puppet"... Hwang Kyo-ahn Pressuring Kim Ki-hyun to Resign

Targeting Allegations of Land Speculation and Subleasing Involvement in Ulsan
"Resign if You Serve the Party and the President"

Candidate Kim Gi-hyeon's 'Ulsan KTX station area land price speculation' allegations have been fiercely attacked by candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is now calling for his resignation two days before the party convention on the 6th, criticizing the 'presidential endorsement.'

Recently, media reports revealed that a presidential office official shared a document supporting candidate Kim in a group chat.

Regarding this, candidate Hwang said, "I knew this would happen," pressuring Kim to resign. He stated, "I have repeatedly warned Kim, who has been going around saying that 'the president is backing him' and engaging in 'presidential endorsement.' The responsibility lies with Kim, who recklessly pushed forward by involving various people."

So far, candidate Hwang has continued his offensive against candidate Kim, highlighting the Ulsan land speculation allegations as the biggest issue of the party convention. In three TV debates, he persistently demanded answers from Kim, and at a press conference the day before, he even mentioned the real name of the local redevelopment association chairman related to Kim's Ulsan land speculation allegations, urging him to clarify the relationship in detail.

Candidate Hwang said, "It is suspected that Kim received tangible and intangible benefits through real estate wealth accumulation and granted special favors such as approving redevelopment projects in a short period," adding, "An investigation should be conducted promptly to reveal the truth. If Kim truly cares about the country, the party, and the president, he should resign immediately."

Hwang Kyo-ahn, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, is delivering his policy speech at the 3rd Party Convention Seoul-Incheon-Gyeonggi Joint Speech Meeting held at Goyang Gymnasium in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Candidate Hwang argues that if Kim, who is surrounded by allegations including Ulsan land speculation, becomes party leader, the People Power Party will be at a disadvantage in next year's general election. On the afternoon of the same day, on KBS Radio's 'Choi Young-il's Current Affairs Headquarters,' Hwang compared Kim to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "If these allegations are left unchecked, it will lead to the 'Kim Gi-hyeon risk,' endangering the general election."

He continued, "Why would I hate candidate Kim Gi-hyeon? The general election is coming soon. Carrying painful issues will cause tremendous suffering," adding, "I spoke out to cut off such issues early and ensure our party's victory in the general election so that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration can succeed."

The People Power Party's March 8 party convention is drawing high interest with a record-high voter turnout. Among 837,236 eligible voters, 397,805 participated in the mobile voting held on the 4th and 5th, resulting in a turnout rate of 47.51%. This mid-term tally already surpasses the previous highest turnout of 45.36% recorded at the 2021 party convention. ARS voting will be conducted from the 6th to the 7th for party members who did not participate in mobile voting, and the final vote count will be announced at the party convention on the 8th.

Candidate Kim's strategy is to secure a majority without a runoff vote. However, other competing candidates aiming to overturn the result in a runoff are intensifying their attacks on Kim's allegations, leading to speculation that achieving a majority may be difficult.

Kim Ki-hyun, the candidate for the leader of the People Power Party, is delivering his policy speech at the 3rd Party Convention Seoul-Incheon-Gyeonggi Joint Speech Meeting held at Goyang Gymnasium in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Candidate Kim is confident that there will be no risks related to the allegations even if he is elected party leader. On the same day, he appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "Please call it an 'issue,' not a '(Ulsan land) speculation allegation,'" claiming, "This has been repeatedly used by the Democratic Party in Ulsan elections for the past 15 years." He further argued that the timing of the route change occurred while Song Cheol-ho, a member of the Democratic Party, was mayor, so it makes no sense to say that he received special favors through the KTX route change.

He also believed that the high voter turnout would work in his favor. Kim said, "Within the ruling party, there is always internal bickering, and it seems like 90% of the activities are internal power struggles, but the anger and voting sentiment of party members saying 'enough is enough' have strongly influenced the turnout."

Regarding the controversy over presidential office interference in the party convention, he dismissed it, saying, "Applying or violating the Public Official Election Act is an unreasonable claim." He emphasized, "Our party convention is an election where the Public Official Election Act does not apply, so it is managed by our party's election commission, not the National Election Commission."