With the number of candidates for the People Power Party presidential primary narrowed down to four, key figures from the pro-Yoon (Yoon Suk-yeol) faction are splitting and successively joining the camps of each candidate, accelerating the fragmentation of the pro-Yoon faction. As declarations of support for candidates from pro-Yoon members and party lawmakers continue, the 'three-way contest' among the contenders is heating up.
Ahead of the second primary where the party members' vote will account for 50%, the pro-impeachment camp has seen continued joinings from the pro-Yoon faction.
The Hong Joon-pyo camp announced that Lee Cheol-kyu, a three-term lawmaker from Gangwon's Donghae, Taebaek, Samcheok, and Jeongseon, who is considered a key figure in the pro-Yoon faction, is expected to join Hong's camp soon. Lee served as the head of the comprehensive situation room for the People Power Party's election campaign committee during the 20th presidential election and as the overall advisor for the president-elect, and is regarded as a 'founding pro-Yoon.' Another noted pro-Yoon member, two-term lawmaker Koo Ja-geun, is already active in Hong's camp as the head of the political overall headquarters.
Another key pro-Yoon figure, lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun from the People Power Party, joined Kim Moon-soo's campaign today as the chair of the election strategy committee. Lawmaker Yoon has risen as a new pro-Yoon figure by clearly expressing a stance against impeachment during the state of emergency under former President Yoon Suk-yeol and the impeachment political climate. While there were concerns raised about lawmaker Yoon's potential independent candidacy, it seems he decided to support candidate Kim for the purpose of 'conservatives uniting.'
Lawmaker Yoon stated at Kim's campaign office in Yeouido, Seoul, that 'the fight against the black cartel forces is not over. We must stand against the totalitarian opposition. In that sense, I share the same direction as candidate Kim. Candidate Kim has shown the most proactive stance for the gathering of the liberal democratic conservative forces.' Yoon Lee-yong, a former lawmaker from the People Power Party who was called the 'bodyguard' of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, also joined Kim Moon-soo's camp today as the head of the external cooperation headquarters. The national organization 'K Gu-guk Alliance,' which supported Yoon Suk-yeol's victory in the previous presidential election, also declared its support for candidate Kim.
The 'three-way contest' among each candidate is also becoming more pronounced.
The Hong camp reported that a total of 48 current lawmakers are directly or indirectly supporting candidate Hong. As of today, the camp has the following officials: ▲General Situation Headquarters Chief Yoo Sang-bum, ▲Political General Headquarters Chief Koo Ja-geun, ▲Women’s General Headquarters Chief Lee In-sun, ▲Defense Security General Headquarters Chief Kang Dae-sik, ▲Health Welfare General Headquarters Chief Baek Jong-heon, ▲Labor General Headquarters Chief Kim Wi-sang, and ▲Secretary to the Candidate Kim Dae-sik. Additionally, 13 members are indirectly supporting the camp by sending aides to the campaign, and 28 members have expressed their support for candidate Hong, according to the camp. The camp is also actively pursuing the recruitment of lawmakers Kim Gi-hyun, Na Kyung-won, and Joo Ho-young as campaign co-chairs.
Candidate Han is also receiving official support from around 20 current lawmakers. Three-term lawmaker Kim Sung-won decided to align with candidate Han today. He declared his support on Facebook, saying, 'Candidate Han only thinks of the nation and the people without political calculations and has maintained the dignity and values of conservatism.' However, many current lawmakers supporting candidate Han are proportional and first-term lawmakers, leading to an assessment that their organizational strength is weak relative to their numbers. Former lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja, who received love calls from other contenders after being eliminated in the first preliminary election (cut-off), also joined candidate Han's camp today.
Candidate Kim Moon-soo's camp includes seven current lawmakers active in the campaign, including lawmaker Yoon, ▲Jang Dong-hyuk (General Headquarters Chief), ▲Eom Tae-young (Organization General Headquarters Chief), ▲Park Soo-young (Policy General Headquarters Chief), ▲Kim Sun-kyo (Special Advisor), and ▲In Yo-han (Chair of the Special Committee for Strengthening the Korea-U.S. Alliance).
The Ahn Cheol-soo camp has not yet seen the joining of any current lawmakers. In response to the criticism that 'the support base from current lawmakers is weak,' candidate Ahn stated, 'The primary will be decided 50-50 by party members and the public,' emphasizing that 'how to win the hearts of party members and the public is the most important.'