Kim Ki-hyun "I Will Give Up Privileges"... Silent on Resignation and Non-Candidacy Demands

Supreme Council Meeting on the 11th, Final Report of the Innovation Committee
Kim "Will Promote Reflection of Innovation Plans in Party Organizations"
Leadership Divided Over Acceptance of 'Sacrifice'

On the 11th, Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the People Power Party, who received the final innovation plan from the In Yo-han Innovation Committee that included the resignation and non-candidacy of the leadership and 'Pro-Yoon' faction, only responded by saying, "All party members will relinquish vested interests." He refrained from directly addressing the 'Kim leader resignation theory' that surfaced over the past weekend. Among the Supreme Council members, there was a clash of opinions between those demanding "stop watering down the issue" and those saying "no one has properly responded to the sacrifice."

In his opening remarks at the Supreme Council meeting that afternoon, Kim said, "Although some of the innovation proposals are difficult to apply directly to certain real political agendas, I actively sympathize with their direction and essential intent," adding, "I will spare no active interest and support so that the valuable results of the Innovation Committee can be orderly reflected and promoted in various official party organizations, including the nomination management committee to be formed soon according to the party constitution and regulations."

This suggests that the leadership intends to pass the innovation proposals to the future general election preparation body rather than officially approving them. The party's Innovation Committee reported the comprehensive innovation proposals No. 1 to 6 to the Supreme Council and ended its activities early that day.

Regarding the long-standing demand for 'sacrifice' from the Innovation Committee, no precise answer was given. Kim said, "All members of our party, including myself, will relinquish all vested interests that do not meet the public's expectations and respond to the people's voice to save livelihoods and the economy with a resolve to live or die," adding, "We will show this not just in words but in actions." Changing the background of the Supreme Council meeting that day to "with a humble attitude and more fiercely" also appears to convey the intention to maintain the Kim leadership while renewing it more thoroughly.

Kim Ki-hyun, the leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim Leader's Sacrifice vs. Shaking the Leadership... Differences Even Within the Leadership

After the Innovation Committee announced its final report and closure on the 7th, voices calling for Kim's voluntary resignation clashed with claims dismissing it as 'shaking the leadership' both inside and outside the party. When Ha Tae-kyung and Seo Byung-soo, senior lawmakers from Busan, urged Kim's responsibility and decision on Facebook the day before, some first-term lawmakers within the party reportedly posted messages in the People Power Party's group chat urging "not to shake the leadership."

Opinions within the Supreme Council meeting that day were also divided. Supreme Council member Kim Seok-ki said, "Who will become the party leader after Kim Gi-hyeon steps down and guarantee a victory in the general election? We must stop shaking the leadership without alternatives," emphasizing, "The way to win is not for Kim to step down immediately but to manage the upcoming nominations well." Regarding those advocating Kim's resignation, he pointed out, "Repeated remarks shaking the party leadership within the party cause the public to distrust the leadership and lead to a decline in support for the party."

Supreme Council member Kim Ga-ram also criticized the call for the party leader's resignation as lacking reasonable alternatives. He said, "What innovation and strategy are there in the party leader stepping down?" adding, "Such criticism mainly starts from the warmest and most comfortable places in our party. Those who have served five terms in Busan and as mayor of Busan, or those who served three terms in Haeundae and boldly came to Seoul, coveting the constituencies of our current lawmakers." This was a direct reference to Seo, a five-term Busan lawmaker, and Ha, who declared non-candidacy in Haeundae and threw his hat into the ring in Jongno, where Choi Jae-hyung is holding firm.

However, voices of self-reflection also emerged, saying that the leadership, including Kim, was not proactive about sacrifice. Bae Hyun-jin, a member of the first Kim leadership, wrote on Facebook that day, "With only 121 days left until the general election, even the Yeongnam leadership, who knows nothing about the Seoul metropolitan elections, must now move," arguing, "We must boldly reorganize incompetent figures who make baseless noise and roll the big wheel of the metropolitan general election with new personnel and new strategies that can invigorate the metropolitan area."

Supreme Council member Kim Byung-min also sharpened his criticism of the leadership's attitude toward accepting the innovation proposals. At the Supreme Council meeting that day, he said, "Chairman In once said that innovation is either 100 points or zero (fail). Where does our party's innovation report card stand between 100 points and zero as we approach the general election? We have very little time left," and asked, "Which of the leadership here has given any answer to the Innovation Committee's demand for sacrifice?"

On SBS radio that morning, while drawing a line against Kim's resignation, Kim also said, "We must confirm the will to sacrifice through Kim Gi-hyeon's own voice and show the public what kind of leadership I will lead this party with," adding, "I see this week as the golden time." After the meeting, he told reporters, "With just about 120 days left until the general election, we cannot waste a single day," explaining, "I am urging People Power Party to adopt this sacrifice and innovation will as quickly as possible to prevent public sentiment from drifting further away."

He expressed a critical view of calling the demand for Kim's sacrifice 'shaking the leadership.' Kim said, "Saying that our party is different from the extreme situations occurring under Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party leadership is democratic diversity," adding, "I hope that expressing each person's sincere concerns will not become political language used for political division or slander against others."