Dispute Over the 'Reality' of the 5-Person Group... Possibility of 'Kim Gi-hyeon Passing' Raised

Cheon Ha-ram "If Kim Ki-hyun is passed over, it is the worst situation"
Ha Tae-kyung "Underground top leadership

Suspicions are growing that a '5-person group' monopolizing the actual decision-making process within the People Power Party exists instead of the Supreme Council. While some within the party claim that the '5-person group' does not exist, there are speculations that a separate 5-person group bypassing Representative Kim Ki-hyun may be operating. It is also pointed out that the root cause of the 5-person group issue stems from Kim's leadership and the controversy over the 'Yoon's mind (윤심)' that influenced his election process.

Cheon Ha-ram, former head of the Suncheon Gap district party committee and an ally of Lee Jun-seok, said on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs" on the 5th, "If there is a secret organization formed by Representative Kim, I think that would be somewhat fortunate, but if there is a secret meeting of people other than Kim, that is very bad."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This suggests that the 5-person group may have bypassed Representative Kim and controlled the party's decision-making process. He added, "We need to see who exercises how much authority when it comes to actual nominations to get a clearer picture," but expressed concern, saying, "The worst-case scenario is that Representative Kim is bypassed."

He pointed out that the fundamental cause is the Supreme Council's composition influenced by the 'Yoon's mind' controversy. Cheon said, "The party convention itself proceeded not because of the weight of the Supreme Council and the representative themselves, but largely due to the influence of the Yoon's mind controversy. Because of that, it is very easy for the controversy to arise that there is someone else who actually needs to show well to get nominated. So, it is a structurally vulnerable situation from the start."

Jo Won-jin, leader of Our Republican Party, also offered a similar analysis. He said, "If the Yongsan Presidential Office is strong, then 5-person groups, 7-person groups, 10-person groups keep emerging," adding, "The important thing is that any such group can directly influence the primaries." Since the Yongsan Presidential Office is stronger than the People Power Party Supreme Council, speculation about secret organizations inevitably arises.

Jo said, "Whether the 5-person group exists or not will be revealed later," but added, "The problem is not the 5-person, 7-person, or 10-person groups, but that when the nomination committee opens, the nomination system is not centered on the party representative but other forces intervene in the nomination process."

However, Lee Jae-oh, a senior advisor of the People Power Party, strongly denied the existence of the '5-person group.' He said it was a mistake by Representative Lee Yong-ho, who initially raised the issue. On CBS Radio, he said, "There is no such thing as a 5-person group. Even though I am a figurehead, I am still an advisor, and I know reasonably well how the party operates," adding, "Representative Lee was talking nonsense."

He pointed out that the 5-person group controversy arose due to Kim's leadership issues. Advisor Lee said, "Because Representative Kim's leadership is somewhat different, he lacks control. So, before entering the Supreme Council, major party officials gather to discuss and share opinions, and then report those discussions in the Supreme Council. That might be possible."

People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung also denied the existence of the 5-person group, saying, "In any party or administration, there are people close to the president. They can have their own opinions, and those opinions are heard, corrected if wrong, or accepted if reasonable. This is the party's decision-making process." However, he added, "(If there is an underground Supreme Council stronger than the official Supreme Council that regularly meets and makes decisions, that would be a problem, but) in my view, there is no underground Supreme Council."