Candidates Who Just Ended the Party Leadership Race... An and Cheon "Thank Party Members," Hwang "Vote Manipulation"

People Power Party Leadership Candidates' Messages After Defeat
Ahn Cheol-soo "Devoted to Party Unity"
Cheon Ha-ram "Was Not Cowardly to Avoid Shame"

The People Power Party's March 8 party convention concluded with Kim Ki-hyun elected as party leader, and the candidates who lost the leadership race collectively expressed their intention to accept the results. While Assemblyman Ahn Cheol-soo and Chun Ha-ram, the Suncheon Gap district party committee chairman, accepted the choice of party members and pledged to work harder going forward, former leader Hwang Kyo-ahn congratulated Kim on his victory but also alleged vote manipulation during this convention.

On the 9th, Assemblyman Ahn wrote on Facebook, "I humbly accept the choice of the party members. I send my congratulations and support to Leader Kim Ki-hyun, who has taken on the heavy responsibility of winning the general election."

Kim Ki-hyun, Ahn Cheol-soo, Hwang Kyo-ahn, Chun Ha-ram, candidates for the People Power Party leadership, and Jeong Jin-seok, emergency committee chairman, are dancing together during the congratulatory performance at the People Power Party's 3rd national convention held on the afternoon of the 8th at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He continued, "I thank and console Hwang Kyo-ahn and Chun Ha-ram, who competed with me to draw public interest to the party convention. I am truly grateful to the party members who supported me until the end, even though I have not been in the party for long," adding, "I will dedicate myself to the unity of the party."

Chairman Chun also shared his position on Facebook on the 9th. He said, "It has been a miraculous month for me," and added, "I have never heard 'Don't be scared,' 'Don't be discouraged' so many times in my life. I accept all these heartfelt words about what I am and what politics is. I express my deep gratitude once again."

Chairman Chun also posted a photo of the reform candidates known as 'Cheon-A-Yong-In (Chun Ha-ram, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Yong-tae, Lee Ki-in)' who participated in the convention together. He wrote, "Some may parasitize power and be satisfied with a temporary title, but we chose not to do so," and added, "We were not cowardly to avoid shame, and because we were not cowardly, we could resemble the people. This is why I believe more citizens will join the journey of reform conservatism."

On the night before the convention ended, a video titled "Irrefutable Evidence of Vote Manipulation in the People Power Party Primary" was uploaded to the YouTube channel 'Hwang Kyo-ahn TV,' operated by former leader Hwang.

In the video, Wi Geum-sook, director of the Crisis Management Research Institute, and Jang Young-woo, who participated as observers in the convention voting held from the 4th to the 7th, claimed there were signs of vote manipulation in the observation materials. Jang explained, "The number of voters changes every 5 seconds, always in multiples of 10, and the last digit of the number of voters is always 5," adding, "What are the odds that a die rolled six times would come up 1 every time? It's the same principle." Previously, former leader Hwang had claimed that early voting in the 2020 April 15 general election and the 2022 presidential election was manipulated and had served as the head of the 'Election Fraud Prevention Team."

However, on the afternoon of the same day, former leader Hwang posted on Facebook, "I congratulate Kim Ki-hyun as party leader and those elected as Supreme Council members," and added, "As a party member, I will continue to do what I must. Just as the ground hardens after rain, we must all unite as one."