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| Ruling People Power Party chairman candidate Chun Ha-ram speaks during a candidates' speech event at a studio in Gangseo District, Seoul, Feb. 7. Joint Press Corps |
By Nam Hyun-woo
The ruling People Power Party's (PPP) competition to elect a new leader took a new twist after an underdog candidate, Chun Ha-ram, emerged out of the blue to rattle the two-way race between Reps. Kim Gi-hyeon and Ahn Cheol-soo.
Of six candidates who submitted their bids for the party chairmanship, the conservative PPP on Friday will eliminate two based on the results of a phone survey of 6,000 party members. Recent polls indicate that Chun, who belatedly expressed his bid to run for the chairmanship, is now finding the supports that had previously been directed toward Ahn.
According to a Realmeter poll from Feb. 6 to 7, Chun secured a 9.4 percent support rate, coming in third after Kim with 45.3 percent and Ahn with 30.4 percent.
In a separate poll by Hangil Research from Feb. 4 to 6, Chun enjoyed a 10.9 percent support rate, trailing Ahn with 35.5 percent and Kim with 31.2 percent.
These results were surprising for Chun, who officially announced his bid for the chairmanship only on Feb. 3. Though the 37-year-old made a slow start, he quickly grabbed the attention with his criticisms of a group of lawmakers close to President Yoon Suk Yeol.
"The so-called pro-Yoon faction or those who claim they are Yoon's close confidant are eroding the public trust in the government and the ruling party," Chun said while announcing his chairmanship bid.
Chun is a lawyer and a PPP regional chapter head in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, which is a liberal stronghold. He is said to be close with former PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok, who was ousted from the post for alleged misconduct, and Chun is now gaining a reputation as a voice for PPP members who are not aligned with the pro-Yoon faction.
"There are too many old-timers who are surrounding President Yoon with their conventional politics," Chun said during a radio interview with broadcaster BBS, Thursday. "This may be an uncomfortable truth for some people, but if this is helpful for the country's politics to get on the right track, I will strongly assert my opinions."
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| People Power Party chairman candidates speak during their speech event at a studio in Gangseo District, Seoul, Feb. 7. From left are Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, Chun Ha-ram and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo. Joint Press Coprs |
Chun's rise is interpreted as a result of Rep. Ahn's struggle in his campaign.
Ahn sought to position himself as a political duo with President Yoon, but his criticisms of the pro-Yoon faction incited anger from the presidential office and the PPP mainstream, forcing the three-term lawmaker to soften his criticisms.
"As Ahn contemplates whether to align himself with the mainstream of the party or criticize the pro-Yoon faction, Chun, who has styled himself as a clear adversary of the pro-Yoon faction, is seeing a surge in support," a ruling bloc official said.
On Thursday, Ahn wrote on Facebook that he will introduce ChatGPT, a buzzing conversational AI service, as a tool for the PPP's communication with the public, and Chun criticized with his Facebook posting that "Ahn should ask to ChatGPT, whether or not he is a pro-Yoon or anti-Yoon."
While Ahn and Chun are engaging in a political tug-of-war, Rep. Kim, who is favored by the pro-Yoon faction, is expanding his influence by joining forces with former lawmaker Na Kyung-won. Na was previously a leading PPP leader hopeful in past surveys but did not run for the election after clashing with the presidential office.
"We are political companions based on 20 years of mutual trust," Kim told reporters, Thursday, referring to Na. "We decided to join hands to help me become the chairman."
The PPP will elect its new chairman during its March 8 national convention. The election will be held among approximately 860,000 eligible party members, with mobile and ARS voting from March 3 to 7. If there is no candidate who secures more than half of the total votes, the party will hold a run-off voting round between the top two candidates from March 10 to 11, and announce the result on March 12.
The Realmeter poll was requested by Media Tribune and surveyed 402 people who said they support the PPP. The Hangil Research poll was requested by Kuki News and asked 527 PPP supporters. Further details of the surveys are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.
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