Kim Moo-sung: "Those Responsible for the 20s General Election Defeat and Senior Members Should Step Down"

Hwang Kyo-ahn and Yoo Seung-min say, "There are plenty of paths to integration, so why hesitate?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Moo-sung, a member of the Liberty Korea Party who declared he would not run in the general election, stated on the 3rd, "The then Supreme Council members and the nomination management committee members responsible for the defeat in the 20th general election, as well as senior party members responsible for the party's current state, must all step down."

On the same day, Kim emphasized on his Facebook, "Even if these individuals apply for nominations, they should be excluded from nominations for the sake of unifying the right-wing political forces."

He said, "The decisive factor for the birth of the Moon Jae-in administration was the disastrous nominations during the 20th general election, which led to an unavoidable defeat and the loss of the ruling party status to the Democratic Party of Korea," adding, "It is a natural duty for responsible figures to declare they will not run in the election and to lead the infusion of new personnel for the party, the people, and the nation."

The individuals Kim pointed out as targets for non-candidacy include the nine Supreme Council members of the Saenuri Party (now the Liberty Korea Party) in 2016, members of the Public Official Candidate Recommendation Management Committee (Gonggwanwi), and senior lawmakers responsible for the party's downfall.

He explained, "At that time, the Saenuri Party operated under a collective leadership system where the party leader and Supreme Council members all had equal voting rights on major party decisions," and added, "The mainstream forces in the Supreme Council actively pushed for 'commanded nominations' favoring candidates preferred by the Blue House, and the Gonggwanwi, led by Chairman Lee Han-gu, became the vanguard of these 'commanded nominations' as the Blue House's agents."

Kim expressed concern, saying, "Despite the public turning their backs during the final nomination turmoil leading to the election defeat, those who should have stepped down during preparations for the 21st general election have not done so, while those who should lead the party and the election victory are declaring non-candidacy, which is a regrettable situation."

He reiterated the need for unification of right-wing political forces.

Kim stated, "There is no other way but to reunify and fight together, not remain divided as we are now," and warned, "In a closely contested general election, divided forces are destined to lose. The right-wing political leaders who are currently voicing their own opinions will exit after the election defeat, and if the left-wing forces completely dominate the National Assembly, there will be no place for right-wing conservatives."

Specifically addressing Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, and Yoo Seung-min, a member of the New Conservative Party, he urged, "Right-wing conservative political leaders must now make a choice," and added, "While sharing the theme of unification, it is not the time to hesitate by clinging to small gains. There are many paths to unification, so why hesitate?"

Kim concluded, "The only decision for winning the general election is the grand unification of right-wing political forces," warning, "Political parties exist for elections, and if they lose, only humiliation like that in the year-end National Assembly will remain."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.