Lee Taegyu: "Ahn Cheolsoo is a Centrist Pragmatist, Not Conservative"

"Thinking about what to put in the bowl is more important than preparing the bowl"

On the 9th, Lee Tae-gyu, a member of the Bareunmirae Party, stated about Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the People's Party, "He himself does not consider himself conservative but thinks of himself as centrist and pragmatic."
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Suwan] On the 9th, Rep. Lee Taegyu of the Bareunmirae Party stated about former Bareunmirae Party leader Ahn Cheolsoo, "He himself does not consider himself conservative but rather centrist and pragmatic."

In a phone interview with BBC Radio's 'Lee Sanghui's Morning Journal' on the same day, Rep. Lee said, "He believes that the old political paradigm, tainted by ideology, must be changed to pragmatism."

Rep. Lee said, "Currently, the ruling power is labeled as 'left-wing' or 'progressive,' so we gather saying 'we are conservatives' or 'right-wing,' and engage in factional confrontations. Leader Ahn Cheolsoo views this as undesirable," adding, "Therefore, (former leader Ahn) believes that to move toward the future rather than factional confrontation, we must adopt a new political paradigm that breaks the current factional conflicts. This would allow us to control and overcome the dogmatism and monopolization by those currently labeled as left-wing or so-called progressives."

Regarding the New Year's greeting message sent by former leader Ahn to Bareunmirae Party members the previous day, Rep. Lee said, "He simply declared his political resumption and addressed the public, so the message was sent to party members afterward. Because he is still a Bareunmirae Party member as of now, it was a message sent out of basic courtesy to party members. It does not imply 'I will return to the party' in any way."

Ahn Cheol-soo, Former Leader of the People Party / Photo by Yonhap News

He then commented on former leader Ahn's situation ahead of his return, saying, "Currently, Korean politics lacks any future discourse at all. There seems to be much contemplation on 'how to change it' and whether he can actually 'bring about that change.' Personally, I think that rather than having confidence that he can accomplish this, a sense of mission to achieve this change is more strongly at work."

Regarding the form of former leader Ahn's political comeback, he said, "If he resumes politics, the content is important first. He said he would consult with many people about what kind of 'container' is appropriate to hold that content upon his return," adding, "Rather than deciding alone and saying 'let's all gather,' he seems likely to listen to opinions and judge 'this container is good,' or 'this option is preferable.'"

Rep. Lee also said, "Although it was concluded that there was no sincerity, there was an official statement from Leader Sohn Hakgyu that 'if Leader Ahn returns, I will step down,'" and urged, "If Leader Sohn does not step down and remains, wouldn't that be a message telling Leader Ahn 'do not return to the party'?" calling for Leader Sohn's action.

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