Na, Won, Yoon, united in full effort to catch Han Dong-hoon
Korea "Won Hee-ryong claims Lee Myung-bak's party withdrawal and Park Geun-hye's impeachment"
Apologies for 'prosecution cancellation exposure' and 'intentional defeat' remarks
At the final party leader candidate debate before the July 23 People Power Party convention, candidates Han Dong-hoon, Na Kyung-won, and Won Hee-ryong engaged in a verbal clash over 'remarks' and 'betrayer' accusations.
During the 6th People Power Party leader candidate broadcast debate hosted by SBS, candidate Won claimed, "Han's verbal risks are causing serious doubts and criticism about whether important discussions can take place among comrades, as it dismantles his own camp indiscriminately without distinguishing friend from foe." This was aimed at candidate Han, who had revealed that candidate Na requested the dismissal of the fast-track collision case indictment.
Regarding an anecdote from May when candidates Han and Won had a meal near Han’s residence, Won said, "About two hours after the meal proposal, I was shocked to receive an inquiry from a certain cable TV reporter asking if I was going to meet candidate Han," and added, "This problem arose from exchanging closed information by providing exclusive stories to some media outlets." In response, Han said, "Photos of the meal had already been posted on online communities," to which Won retorted, "That was before the meal."
Handonghun (from left), Nakyeongwon, Yunsanghyeon, and Won Heeryong, candidates for the People Power Party leadership, raise their hands to greet at the 4th Party Convention and the joint speech meeting for Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon held on the 17th at Goyang Sono Arena in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@
Candidate Won revealed that Han was asked to resign by Presidential Secretary General Lee Gwan-seop while Han was the emergency committee chairman in January, calling it party affairs interference. He criticized Han’s remarks, saying, "He publicly disclosed the president’s proxy to the media and proudly claimed resistance to 'party affairs interference.' How can he communicate with the president?" Han explained, "I just provided about one line of background on what had already been reported by the media."
Han also directly attacked Won for publicly stating in the past that former President Lee Myung-bak should leave the party and former President Park Geun-hye should be impeached. Han suggested that someone with a history of attacking former Presidents Lee and Park might also demand President Yoon Seok-youl’s departure. Han further pointed out, "Right after winning the Jeju governor election in 2018, you said the Moon Jae-in administration scored 80 points, while the Park Geun-hye administration scored negative points. How can we believe you won’t betray President Yoon in this way?" In response, Won countered, "The pattern of always attacking the messenger while escaping blame is too obvious and no longer works." He emphasized, "From these two cases, I deeply felt the lesson that if the ruling party splits and, for example, members leave the party, we all lose. If I could go back to that time, I wouldn’t do it again."
Candidate Na also questioned Han’s sincerity in apologizing, referring to Han’s mention during the previous day’s KBS debate that President Yoon was the Prosecutor General at the time of the fast-track indictment. Na said, "The party leader must take responsibility for faults in the trust relationship with the president and give credit to the president. I think Han has many shortcomings in this regard." She added, "Han often claims credit for good things and blames others for bad things, which makes me think a lot as someone who has been in politics for a long time." Han responded by mentioning that he personally explained and passed the arrest consent bill for former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, saying, "It is self-destructive to belittle and mock the role of the Minister of Justice just because the court dismissed it for reasons difficult to understand." Candidate Yoon Sang-hyun indirectly criticized Han, saying, "I also played a key role during the Park Geun-hye administration, but I always kept confidentiality and tried to maintain loyalty until the end."
As it was the final broadcast debate, apologies for previous remarks were also made. Han apologized again for revealing the request to cancel the fast-track indictment, and Won expressed regret for his remark accusing Han of deliberately losing the general election, saying, "I realized my mistake."
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