Shin Ji-ho "Concerns over Yoon's 'Shadow King Politics' during Impeachment... Even 'Kim Geon-hee Candidacy Rumors'"

Pro-Han Dong-hoon Faction's Shin Jiho Shares People Power Party's Internal Mood
"Worried About How Yoon Will Respond if Impeachment Is Upheld"
On 'Kim Keon-hee Candidacy Rumors': "I've Heard Such Talk"

Former People Power Party Strategy Planning Deputy Secretary-General Shin Ji-ho predicted that if President Yoon Suk-yeol were impeached, he might continue to exert influence over the party through "Sangwang politics" (retired king politics). Shin, who is classified as part of the pro-Han Dong-hoon faction, said in an interview on Channel A Radio's "Political Signal" on the 17th, "Whether it is anti-Yoon members who support impeachment or pro-Yoon members who oppose it, they cannot openly talk about it, but they are internally agonizing over one thing," adding, "That is how President Yoon will respond if the impeachment is upheld, and whether Sangwang politics will begin."

On the 8th, when President Yoon Seok-yeol was released, members of the People Power Party were present in front of Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News

Shin said, "If the impeachment is upheld, he will be a 'former president' but may still exercise his influence, such as creating a Yoon-sim (Yoon-centered) candidate. The question is whether this so-called Sangwang politics will exist, and if so, to what extent," adding, "Although they cannot talk about it openly, everyone is worried about this in various ways internally. If he exerts direct influence on an early presidential election, Sangwang politics will become a reality."

In response to the host's remark that "there are rumors that if an early presidential election is held, First Lady Kim Keon-hee might run as the ruling party's candidate," he said, "I have heard such rumors as well," and added, "If Sangwang politics operates, there are also theories about who the Yoon-sim candidate might be, whether it is Kim Moon-soo or someone else."

Earlier, Yoon Sang-hyun, a People Power Party lawmaker classified as pro-Yoon Suk-yeol, said on the 10th, "President Yoon's impeachment will not be upheld," but also stated, "Political analysts say that the ruling party's presidential candidate in the next election will inevitably be a Yoon-sim candidate."

However, Kim Jong-hyuk, a former Supreme Council member of the People Power Party and another figure from the pro-Han Dong-hoon faction, claimed in an interview on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" on the 14th that "a Yoon-sim candidate will surely lose in the presidential election." He argued, "The regime must be re-established through the election for President Yoon to receive a pardon or be freed from his situation, but if a candidate is chosen, the possibility of a pardon disappears," adding, "He will be caught in this dilemma and agonize greatly, and in the end, he will not be able to do it."