As the final candidate selection for the first cut-off by the People Power Party approaches in a day, Ahn Cheol-soo, a presidential primary candidate, is engaged in a fierce battle with Na Kyung-won for the fourth place. Ahn has increased his criticism of Na while also intensifying attacks against anti-impeachment faction candidates like Kim Moon-soo and Hong Joon-pyo.
The People Power Party plans to narrow down four candidates for the second primary through a public opinion poll that will be 100% conducted by the 22nd. With Kim Moon-soo, Han Dong-hoon, and Hong Joon-pyo expected to make it to the final four, the focus is on whether Na or Ahn will advance.
◇ Ahn intensifies attacks on Na Kyung-won... “Unashamedly using Yoon for the presidential election”
Ahn visited Daegu on the 21st, just one day before the second cut-off.
He held a press conference at the People Power Party Daegu City Party's conference room and criticized Na by saying, “The former President Yoon suggested that I run for president, but when it became disadvantageous in the debate, I told him not to mention it. You can't be so hypocritical that you consume what you like and spit out what you don't.”
He added, “The person who was shouting ‘dismissal of impeachment’ at the Constitutional Court has jumped into the presidential race as soon as the impeachment was upheld, and all the party members remember that,” and asked, “How is that statement and action justified now? It’s the end of unashamed behavior.”
Regarding Na's criticism telling him, “Stop the cuckoo and leave the party,” Ahn replied, “Didn’t I become the ruling party through unification with Candidate Yoon three years ago?” adding, “The person who benefited (in the last three years) as a senior member of the ruling party is Candidate Na.” He continued, “In fact, it should be Na who says thank you,” and pointed out, “Ignoring such things and talking about something else is not right.”
It seems that Ahn has raised the intensity of attacks against Na, who is expected to compete for the final candidate position in the People Power Party's first cut-off.
According to a poll conducted by Realmeter on 1,504 voters aged 18 and older nationwide at the request of The Energy Economics Newspaper from the 16th to the 18th (with a 95% confidence level and a sampling error of ±2.5% points; for more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Review Committee website), Na ranked fourth with 4%, while Ahn recorded 3.7% in fifth place. The gap was only 0.3 percentage points.
With Kim Moon-soo (12.2%), Han Dong-hoon (8.5%), and Hong Joon-pyo (7.5%) ahead, Na and Ahn must engage in a close battle for the remaining ‘one seat’ in the second primary.
◇ Heightening criticism against the anti-impeachment faction while laying groundwork to expand middle ground
Ahn has also raised the intensity of attacks against the anti-impeachment faction presidential candidates.
He pointed out that regarding Kim, “The one who effectively endorsed martial law while serving as a minister in Yoon's government ran for presidency without a single word of apology after the Constitutional Court declared it unconstitutional.” He further questioned, “Isn’t it shameful to seek the people's votes while maintaining that position which threatened democracy using a state of national emergency?”
Regarding Hong, Ahn noted, “The person who said in the past that a party that was impeached should give up on the next presidential election is now running for president as if he had been waiting for this.” He asked, “If you support martial law and oppose impeachment, shouldn’t you stick to that path? How can you be so brazen without any explanation or reflection on your contradictory political actions?”
In particular, after Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon declared his candidacy for the presidential election, Ahn also criticized the anti-impeachment faction legislators. He condemned Na, Kim, and Hong, saying, “Go and compete in Jeon Kwang-hoon's party.” This is seen as an effort to differentiate himself by characterizing other candidates as far-right and emphasizing his potential to appeal to centrist voters.
The People Power Party's first primary method will be ‘100% public opinion polls’, conducted targeting supporters of the People Power Party and undecided voters, applying a reverse selection prevention clause to exclude supporters of other parties.
On the 16th, Ahn met with Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, who is assessed to have high moderate appeal, and mentioned, “After talking with Mayor Oh, I felt that our political stances were similar.”
Cho Soo-young, a political commentator, noted, “The votes of the People Power Party’s strong supporters are likely to lean toward other candidates excluding Ahn,” and added, “Therefore, from Ahn’s perspective, it seems that he is increasing his offensive against anti-impeachment candidates while emphasizing the need to gain as many moderate votes as possible to pass the first cut-off.”