Sim Sang-jung: "No Unification with the Democratic Party in the General Election... Will Compete Based on Policies"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, stated on the 21st regarding the April 15 general election, "There will be no candidate unification with the Democratic Party of Korea."

At a New Year's press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Sim said, "Candidate unification is a thing of the past and the public does not agree. This election is a choice for the future, so competition will be centered on future vision and policies."

Sim said, "The party's goal is to secure more than 20% of the vote and produce a majority of constituency winners to form a parliamentary negotiation group," adding, "this election is one where the Justice Party and the Democratic Party compete to oust the conservative forces represented by the Liberty Korea Party and create a new future."

Sim pledged, "The political revolution opening the future will be accomplished by the Justice Party without fail," and announced four major reform plans to achieve this: ▲ generational change ▲ replacement of privileged politics ▲ realization of pluralistic democracy ▲ the Justice Party's future economic strategy 'Green New Deal.'

Regarding generational change, he said, "We will become a platform for the political empowerment of Korean youth and boldly lead generational change," and declared, "We will allocate five winnable proportional representation seats?numbers 1, 2, 11, and 12?to youth, becoming the party with the most members of the National Assembly under 35 years old."

On replacing privileged politics, he said, "We will undertake a major reform to break down the privileges of lawmakers and high-ranking officials and establish fairness and justice," adding, "We will strongly promote relinquishing privileges, including a top wage system centered on reducing lawmakers' salaries and reducing the number of legislative aides."

Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, holds a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Sim also expressed his position on prosecutorial reform that day. He said, "Prosecutorial reform is the spirit of the times. The issue of 'insubordination or external pressure' cannot be discussed on a horizontal level," adding, "Prosecutorial reform is demanded by the overwhelming majority of the people, and the prosecution must accept this." This was a remark targeting the recent controversy over the prosecution's 'insubordination at a funeral.'

Regarding prosecutorial personnel, he said, "I don't know what the results of the prosecution's organizational restructuring will be, but I have one concern," adding, "I hope investigations into conglomerates and economic powers are not reduced."

On the independent dispatch of troops to the Strait of Hormuz, he said, "Our party opposes any dispatch that antagonizes Iran," adding, "If the Cheonghae Unit is deployed to the Strait of Hormuz for dispatch this time, it would be considered antagonistic to Iran, and it is difficult to agree." He emphasized, "Since this is a change in the purpose of dispatch, parliamentary approval procedures must be followed."

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