People Power Party Presidential Candidates Go Through Semifinals and Finals... "Why Did We Support Unification with Han Ducksoo?"

Kim Moonsoo: "It will help us defeat Lee Jaemyung"
Hong Junpyo: "We must surpass Acting President Han to beat Lee Jaemyung"
Han Donghoon: "There's nothing in particular to be upset about"
Ahn Cheolsoo: "Acting President Han is needed as a tariff negotiation and election management expert"

In the People Power Party presidential primary, all major candidates except for lawmaker Ahn Cheolsoo responded positively to the proposal for candidate unification with Acting President and Prime Minister Han Ducksoo.

During the final four debate held at the MBN studio in Jung-gu, Seoul, a speed quiz in the form of O/X was conducted regarding the statement, "Honestly, I do not want Acting President Han Ducksoo to be drafted." Former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moonsoo, former People Power Party leader Han Donghoon, and Mayor Hong Junpyo all chose X, indicating that they did not oppose the idea. Only lawmaker Ahn Cheolsoo chose O, indicating that he did not want it.

On the 26th, presidential primary candidates of the People Power Party are taking a commemorative photo before the debate at the 2nd primary candidate debate held at the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. From left to right are primary candidates Ahn Cheolsoo, Han Donghoon, Kim Moonsoo, and Hong Junpyo. Photo by Yonhap News.

Former leader Han Donghoon said, "I realized that People Power Party supporters really want to win," and evaluated, "The fact that people are coming up with various ideas is one of the signs of our party's dynamism." He continued, "There's nothing in particular to be upset about," and added, "In the end, the candidate chosen from among these four will represent the conservatives and face Lee Jaemyung." This appears to reflect his confidence that the People Power Party candidate will ultimately win, even if there is unification with Acting President Han.

Former Minister Kim Moonsoo said, "Acting President Han is a lifelong public servant who has always studied, and if a person with such excellent character and career joins us as the historic People Power Party candidate to defeat Lee Jaemyung, it will meet the expectations of our party and the people," adding, "I hope it will definitely help us win against Lee Jaemyung."

Mayor Hong Junpyo said, "At first, I saw it as unreasonable," explaining, "It was upsetting to see someone who had not even gone through the preliminary rounds suddenly appear, while we went through the preliminaries, semifinals, and finals, and the party had already chosen a candidate." However, he explained his change of heart by saying, "Upon reflection, I thought, if we can't surpass Acting President Han, how can we expect to defeat Lee Jaemyung?" and added, "There were also many demands from party members."

On the other hand, lawmaker Ahn Cheolsoo was the only one to express opposition. He emphasized, "Acting President Han is an expert who can achieve the best results in tariff negotiations with the United States," and added, "Even if tariffs are reduced by just 1% per day, we could accumulate a great deal of wealth." He further stated, "He also needs to oversee the presidential election," expressing his view that Acting President Han should remain in his current position to address ongoing issues.