Political Reform Alliance: "Justice Party, It's Regrettable... Please Reconsider"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The Political Reform Coalition, led by progressive and reformist civic groups, presented the principles and specific operational plans for the proportional representation coalition party on the 10th. Regarding the upcoming all-member vote on participation in the coalition party by the Democratic Party of Korea, they expressed hope that "many opinions in favor of participation will emerge."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the same day, Cho Sung-woo, co-chairman of the Political Reform Coalition's joint founding preparation committee, held a press conference in Anguk-dong, Seoul, stating, "Please unite your efforts to defeat the tricks of the United Future Party and the Future Korea Party through the election coalition party and to achieve progress in reform."

He expressed his ambition by saying, "Through the election coalition party, we will break the proportionality of the Future Korea Party and prevent seat theft." He also urged the participation of each party, saying, "For hope to be realized, the election coalition party must first be established."

To the Democratic Party, he said, "We expect the determination of the lawmakers and party members," emphasizing, "We must not hold elections after already conceding 20 proportional representation seats due to the tricks of the Future Korea Party." He added, "We ask party members to support blocking the tricks of the Future Korea Party and preserving the achievements of political reform." The Democratic Party plans to hold a parliamentary meeting in the afternoon to discuss participation in the coalition party.

Regarding the Justice Party, which refused to participate in the coalition party, he said, "We respect the decision but feel regret," adding, "If the Future Korea Party occupies the seats that progressive minority parties should have, it will completely undermine the achievements of the electoral system reform. We ask them to reconsider once again."

He further stated, "Candidates from each party elected through the election coalition party will return to their original parties after the election," and added, "Please unite your efforts to achieve greater progress in reform."

Chairman Cho also explained the future operational methods, including the allocation of proportional representation order numbers. To preserve the meaning of the proportional representation system, candidates from non-parliamentary parties will be placed at the front of the proportional list. The request from the Future Party to place young politicians at the front of the list will also be implemented. The specific name of the coalition party will be decided through agreement among the participating parties.

The Political Reform Coalition plans to complete the founding of five city and provincial parties within this week and to establish the central party on the 15th.

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