Won Hee-ryong "Han Dong-hoon, Lee Myung-bak Indicted and Detained"
Han Dong-hoon "Won Hee-ryong Also Supports Park's Impeachment"
Na Kyung-won and Yoon Sang-hyun Also Criticize Han
As the July 23 People Power Party leadership election approaches, the 'betrayer' disputes between candidate Han Dong-hoon and other candidates are escalating into a fierce battle.
Candidate Won Hee-ryong directly criticized Han on his Facebook this morning, linking past conflicts between President Kim Young-sam and New Korea Party Chairman Lee Hoi-chang, President Roh Moo-hyun and Open Democratic Party Leader Chung Dong-young, as well as President Park Geun-hye and the Saenuri Party to the failure of regime re-creation, stating, "It is testified that conflicts between the president and the party leader caused the loss of the regime."
He continued, "If former Chairman Han abandons the belief that he is right and humbly accepts the lessons of history, he can take the right path for the party, the president, and himself," adding, "Is it not possible to withdraw the claim for Special Prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong even now? I believe it is right to withdraw it even now. The choice is up to former Chairman Han."
Previously, Candidate Won criticized Han for having served as an administrator in the Blue House's Civil Affairs Office assisting President Lee Myung-bak, whom he later prosecuted and indicted through the state corruption investigation. Han also claimed that Won supported the impeachment of former President Park in 2017, to which Won responded that he was the governor of Jeju at the time and could not participate in the parliamentary vote.
Candidates Na Kyung-won and Yoon Sang-hyun are also continuing their attacks on Han. Candidate Na pointed out that "one side (Candidate Won) is engaging in Yoonism, and the other side (Han) is creating another faction," adding, "I am campaigning to expel potential school violence perpetrators from both sides."
Candidate Yoon Sang-hyun also mentioned on social media, "I think I understand why former Chairman Han severed ties with President Yoon," stating, "Former Chairman Han seems to have an excessive sense of narcissism."
With candidate Han enjoying popular support but facing emergencies in the Yeongnam and Chungcheong regions, this is interpreted as a strategy to solidify his position as the 'counter candidate to Han Dong-hoon.' Especially since the party member vote ratio in this leadership election is high (80%), the intention is to appeal to the traditional conservative base and capture Han's support. In fact, Han has not been able to meet with local government heads such as Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo, and Chungnam Governor Kim Tae-heum.
An official from the ruling party said, "Disputes among candidates happen every leadership election and are better than a single nomination," but expressed concern, "Excessive disputes may cause fatigue among the watching public."
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