Hand in Hand 'Ahn Cheol-soo - Hwang Kyo-ahn'... "Kim Ki-hyun Should Resign Today"

Joint Press Conference Held on the Afternoon of the 7th
Ahn Cheol-soo: "We Will Fight Together with Evidence"

On the 7th, a day before the People Power Party's leadership election, candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Hwang Kyo-ahn jointly called for the withdrawal of candidate Kim Ki-hyun. They cited concerns that the party could fall into crisis due to Kim's real estate speculation allegations and the presidential office official's interference in the leadership election process.

Candidate Ahn, together with Candidate Hwang, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office that afternoon, stating, "This is the final ultimatum. (Candidate Kim) must withdraw immediately today," and added, "If he does not withdraw, we will fight together with all the evidence regarding the illegal election activities and the presidential office official's interference in the leadership election process."

People Power Party's Ahn Cheol-soo and Hwang Kyo-ahn, candidates for party leader, hold a joint press conference on the 7th at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding the controversy over the "Presidential Office administrative officer group chat supporting Kim Ki-hyun." Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Candidate Ahn emphasized, "The allegations of Candidate Kim's land speculation in Ulsan and the presidential office official's election interference must be thoroughly investigated even after the leadership election ends," adding, "Only then can the party's division be resolved and next year's general election be won."

Candidate Hwang also said, "This leadership election should be a festival for party members to normalize the party's abnormal state and serve as a foothold for victory in next year's general election," but added, "However, with the land speculation allegations against Candidate Kim emerging, this has become the most chaotic leadership election in history." He continued, "If this continues, we will fall into a great crisis again," and warned, "The party will be divided, the president will bear a heavy burden, and we will be defeated in next year's general election, failing to protect the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."

After the press conference, when meeting with reporters, Candidate Ahn pointed out, "Isn't the Republic of Korea a liberal democracy? Yet here, a public official interfering in an election is something absolutely impossible under the constitution and law, but it has been brazenly carried out," and added, "They also touched on the nation's most sensitive issue, land."

Although the two candidates shared a joint stance, they avoided giving a definitive answer when asked about forming an alliance. Candidate Hwang said, "For now, I hope you accept this statement," and added, "Putting aside personal gains or losses, I am saying this for the freedom and future preparation of the Republic of Korea." When asked about speculation that they might be working together to prepare a path in case of defeat, he responded, "Protecting the party is ultimately protecting the president," and drew a line by saying, "People with different opinions are just making various objections." However, in political circles, it is widely viewed that the two have effectively formed an alliance.

They also appear highly willing to align with candidate Cheon Ha-ram. Candidate Ahn explained, "Candidate Cheon mentioned a provisional emergency committee, which means that even if (Candidate Kim) becomes party leader, he should step down and move to a provisional committee system," and added, "I believe he shares the same intention as us."

Before the press conference, the two candidates held a luncheon meeting at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, where they reached a consensus on joint action. Candidate Hwang said, "We exchanged simple opinions and came to an agreement to work together."

Candidate Ahn's side filed a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) regarding the presidential office's civic society senior officials' interference in the leadership election. The presidential office civic society senior officials supported Candidate Kim and disparaged Candidate Ahn in a group chat, violating the political neutrality regulations for public officials.

The allegations of Candidate Kim's land speculation in Ulsan were raised by Candidate Hwang during the party leader candidate TV debate on the 15th of last month. Candidate Hwang claimed that the KTX Ulsan Station route was changed from the original plan to pass through land owned by Candidate Kim, resulting in an 1800-fold increase in market value. In response, Candidate Kim stated, "If this is true, I will retire from politics," and directly requested an investigation by the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Headquarters.