Former Korean history instructor Jeon Han-gil urged a political retirement in the wake of Kim Moon-soo's defeat, saying, 'Throwing away Jeon Han-gil means throwing away Yoon Suk-yeol' after the People Power Party elected Jang Dong-hyeok as the new party leader.
On the 26th, Jeon broadcasted the final voting results of the party convention live on his YouTube channel 'Jeon Han-gil News.' Candidate Jang secured a total of 220,302 votes, defeating Candidate Kim (217,935 votes) by a margin of 2,367 votes to become the party leader.
Jeon said, 'Congratulations. You barely won, you barely won,' as he applauded. However, he noted, 'Is this really a time to laugh? Former President Yoon Suk-yeol is in a state of being purged, as described by (former U.S.) President Trump yesterday, and is suffering severe human rights violations.'
He evaluated Candidate Kim's defeat as a 'strategic failure.' Jeon pointed out, 'He was too indecisive and opportunistic, watching the situation. It seems he thought when he first ran for party leader and got approval ratings in the 40% range that it would just happen. So, he suggested that Han Dong-hoon could go along, and Lee Jun-seok could go along too.'
In particular, he criticized, 'Currently, it is YouTube, not legacy media, that is leading public opinion, yet they ignored the YouTubers.' He mentioned, 'I invited Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyeok to a conservative right-wing YouTuber debate, but when the media asked, 'Are you going to Jeon Han-gil's interview?' Jang showed up as promised, while Kim canceled. I found it disappointing. They ignored the YouTubers.'
He also claimed regarding Candidate Kim's statement during the final debate that he would nominate Han Dong-hoon instead of Jeon Han-gil in next year's local elections, 'He touched the reverse scale of the conservative right. Han Dong-hoon is the culprit who drove the dismissal of former President Yoon and the election of President Lee Jae-myung. We were trying to push Han Dong-hoon out, but it was unacceptable to say he would be nominated.' He expressed, 'Watching that scene, I judged that we have crossed the Rubicon.'
He raised his voice towards Candidate Kim, saying, 'By embracing Han Dong-hoon and abandoning Jeon Han-gil, you owe me an apology.' He emphasized, 'Behind Jeon Han-gil, there is Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee. Throwing away Jeon Han-gil means throwing away Yoon Suk-yeol.'
He added, 'Candidate Kim Moon-soo should retire from politics. He must take responsibility for the presidential election defeat,' stating, 'Since he has been judged by the party members, he should retire from politics and spend his later years comfortably.'
Jeon departed for Washington, where the U.S.-Korea summit was held the previous day. He disclosed a video filmed in advance at Incheon Airport, expressing, 'I will inform the international community about the human rights violations against former President Yoon, the unfairness of the special prosecutor regarding the rebellion, and issues of media suppression.'