Sharp Divide Over Special Prosecutor Response
Ahn Cheolsoo: "We Must Resolve This Quickly"
Cho Kyungtae: "The Root Cause Lies with Kim Keonhee"
Anti-Impeachment Candidates Clash Over Presidential Candidate Replacement
Candidates running for the People Power Party leadership at the August 22 party convention engaged in heated debates over issues such as the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, martial law, and responses to the special prosecutor during the second televised debate held on the 17th.
Former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moonsoo, along with lawmakers Jang Donghyuk, Cho Kyungtae, and Ahn Cheolsoo, attended the sixth televised debate for party leadership candidates, which took place at the KBS headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th. This was the second debate following the previous one held on the 10th.
Candidates running for the People Power Party leadership election are taking a commemorative photo before the second television debate held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul on the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News
The four candidates were sharply divided into pro-impeachment and anti-impeachment factions regarding how to respond to the special prosecutor. The Kim Keonhee special prosecutor team attempted, but failed, to execute a search and seizure of the party membership list at the central party headquarters in Yeouido on the 13th.
Kim Moonsoo and Jang Donghyuk, both anti-impeachment, held Cho Kyungtae and Ahn Cheolsoo, who supported the special prosecutor bill, responsible for the attempted search and seizure at the party headquarters.
Jang Donghyuk stated, "The special prosecutor came to the party headquarters, which is like the heart of the People Power Party, and tried to seize the party membership list, which is the lifeblood of the party, but withdrew." He demanded that Ahn Cheolsoo clarify his position on how to respond to the special prosecutor. Jang also said, "I have repeatedly warned that if the special prosecutor bill passes, there will be an unrestrained investigation," and pressed, "If you anticipated such an unruly investigation by a political special prosecutor, why did you support it?"
In response, Ahn Cheolsoo said, "We must resolve these issues quickly so that they do not affect next year's local elections." He continued, "If there are criminal suspicions, they should be investigated, but I have already made my position clear on Facebook and strongly opposed the idea of searching the party headquarters and demanding the membership list of five million people. If the special prosecutor comes tomorrow, I will do everything in my power to stop them, just as I did at the National Liberation Day ceremony on the 15th."
Kim Moonsoo commented on the special prosecutor issue, saying, "The Lee Jaemyung special prosecutor tried to raid the party headquarters and seize the membership list of five million people. After finishing the joint speech in Daejeon, I immediately began a sit-in protest that night." He added, "There is not a single criminal suspicion. Demanding the membership list of five million people is an unprecedented outrage and atrocity in the history of political parties worldwide." He then asked Cho Kyungtae, "What is the point of becoming party leader after the membership list is taken and the party is dismantled? How do you think we should respond to the search and seizure?"
Cho Kyungtae replied, "One of the reasons for the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor is related to the Unification Church. Of course, we must prevent any intrusion into the main opposition party, but we also need to consider who caused this situation. It is someone related to Kim Keonhee."
He added, "Do you know who said, 'Anyone who refuses the special prosecutor is the criminal'? It was former President Yoon. While the party leadership and the special prosecutor are in discussions, we must actively cooperate with the special prosecutor on any parts where criminal suspicions are clearly revealed."
Ahn Cheolsoo (left) and Cho Kyungtae, candidates running for the People Power Party leadership election, are seen conversing before the second television debate held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News
The candidates were also divided over the issue of the December 3 Martial Law. Cho Kyungtae asked Jang Donghyuk, "If you could go back to December 3 of last year and martial law was declared, would you still see it as divine revelation and support lifting martial law, or would you oppose it?" Jang Donghyuk answered, "I would participate in the vote again and vote for lifting it."
When Cho Kyungtae followed up by asking, "Since you supported lifting martial law, shouldn't you also support impeachment?" Jang Donghyuk responded, "I do not agree with the idea that martial law must be resolved through impeachment. There were political solutions such as a constitutional amendment to shorten the presidential term, and at the time, former President Yoon delegated all authority to the party."
Ahn Cheolsoo asked Kim Moonsoo why he stated on the Jeon Hangil YouTube channel that "no one was killed or injured under martial law, it was lifted within six hours, and nothing happened." Kim Moonsoo replied, "The Democratic Party sent over 3 trillion won to North Korea, which was used to make nuclear weapons. In comparison, not a single person was killed under martial law. Nuclear weapons can kill at least 200,000 to 300,000 people at once."
Candidates Kim Moonsoo (right) and Cho Kyungtae, who are running for the People Power Party leadership election, shake hands at the second television debate held on the 17th at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Kim Moonsoo and Jang Donghyuk, who are currently ranked first and second in recent party member polls, clashed head-on over the issue of candidate unification between Kim Moonsoo and former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo during the last presidential election. Jang Donghyuk questioned, "You promised unification 23 times, but did you truly intend to unify with former Prime Minister Han? If so, why did you not meet with him or actively pursue unification?"
Kim Moonsoo responded, "Former Prime Minister Han did unify, which is why he did not run. Did former Prime Minister Han run in the presidential election?" Jang Donghyuk retorted, "That is sophistry."
Jang Donghyuk further emphasized, "What party members expected from Kim Moonsoo was a fair competition in a normal primary-whether through a party member vote or a combined vote with the general public-so that one of the two would run as the candidate before May 11 this year."
After the debate, the four candidates continued their war of nerves outside the venue. Cho Kyungtae, speaking to reporters, criticized Kim Moonsoo's claim that the arrest of former President Yoon constitutes a violation of human rights, saying, "He does not properly understand the concept of severance. When I talk about severance, I mean political severance from our party, not a personal one." He added, "It does not look good for the People Power Party to be constantly swayed by former President Yoon and his wife."
Ahn Cheolsoo maintained a negative stance toward Cho Kyungtae's proposal for candidate unification. He stated, "I will definitely advance to the runoff and win," and added, "I will accomplish the reformist agendas that Cho Kyungtae envisions." Regarding Cho's claim that unification is necessary to reach the runoff, Ahn said, "I will at least come in second, and possibly even higher in the polls. I am confident about making it to the runoff."
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