Ahn Cheol-soo Meets Son Hak-gyu: "I Will Take the Role of Emergency Committee Chair... Please Respond by Tomorrow"

Ahn Cheol-soo Meets Son Hak-gyu 8 Days After Returning to Korea
Son Hak-gyu: "No Different from the 'Yoo Seung-min Faction'... No Reason for Him to Take Charge"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Won Dara] Former People's Party leader and former Bareunmirae Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, who met Bareunmirae Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu just eight days after returning to Korea, proposed to Sohn that the party switch to an emergency committee system and that he be appointed as the chairman. Sohn did not give an immediate answer but pointed out that "there is no difference from the story of the Yoo Seung-min faction."

On the 27th, after meeting with Ahn for about an hour at the National Assembly, Sohn told reporters, "Ahn suggested forming an emergency committee as an alternative, and when I asked who would lead it, he said if it was entrusted to him, he would work hard." He added, "I asked him not to give his position now but to provide it after tomorrow's meeting with the lawmakers."

When asked if he could accept Ahn's proposal, Sohn replied, "I need to review it." However, he pointed out, "What Ahn said seemed no different from what the Yoo Seung-min faction said. There was no explanation on why the leadership system should be reorganized, no details on how to do it, and no reason why he himself should take charge."

When asked if the main message was for Sohn to step down, Sohn was reserved, saying, "Well..." Regarding rumors of forming a new party, he said, "There was no special discussion."

Before Sohn, Ahn, leaving the meeting place, said, "We had an in-depth conversation about how to revive our party, which is in difficulty, and find a way forward." He added, "There is a meeting of the lawmakers' group tomorrow. I asked them to think about it until then and give me an answer."

In particular, when asked about lawmakers concerned about conservative unification, Ahn responded, "I think I've answered that question about a hundred times. I should have brought a recorder," and said, "I have no intention of repeating the same story anymore."

He also asked rhetorically, "Four years ago, reporters asked hundreds of times that if the opposition does not unite, it would benefit the ruling party. Four years have passed, so why has nothing changed?"

Meanwhile, the meeting took place just eight days after Ahn returned to Korea on the 19th. Regarding this, Ahn said, "I had pre-scheduled plans before returning, so I completed them and came to greet the party today." Ahn is scheduled to have a luncheon meeting with party lawmakers on the 28th, the day after his meeting with Sohn.

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