Joo Ho-young: "United Party as a Strong Opposition... Equipped with Experience and Strategy for Negotiations with the Ruling Party"

Candidates Joo Ho-young and Lee Jong-bae, and Kwon Young-se and Cho Hae-jin, who are running for the Future United Party floor leader and policy committee chairman, are attending the elected members' general meeting held at the National Assembly on the 8th to elect the floor leader and policy committee chairman, waiting for the members./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Joo Ho-young, a lawmaker running for the first floor leader of the United Future Party in the 21st National Assembly, targeted voters by emphasizing his rich and meticulous experience in negotiations with the ruling party that can overcome the overwhelming numerical disadvantage, saying, "The United Future Party must be reborn as a strong opposition party."

On the morning of the 8th, Joo gave a policy speech at the United Future Party elected members' general meeting held in the main building of the National Assembly for the election of the floor leader and the chairman of the Policy Committee, saying, "This floor leader election must have no practice or trial and error."

He said, "The new floor leader faces numerous difficult issues such as forming the leadership team, negotiating the organization of the National Assembly, the integration issue with the Future Korea Party, resolving lawsuits related to the fast-track process, and the reinstatement of independent elected members," adding, "Among the four-term lawmakers, many have been away from the National Assembly for a long time, and I was criticized and pondered over the question, 'Shouldn't the opposition floor leader, who has to face the ruling party majority, have more experience and negotiation skills than the ruling party floor leader?' After much consideration, I made the difficult decision." This was a remark aimed at his rival floor leader candidate Kwon Young-se, who had an eight-year gap in his legislative activities.

Joo said, "The party has many reform plans to become a governing party loved by the people," and added, "In the era of big data and artificial intelligence (AI), elections have already become a science, but we have understood public sentiment with our own closed beliefs. I will reorganize the Yeouido Research Institute into a proper information and policy center," presenting his reform plans.

Regarding the reasons for failure, he said, "It was due to a lack of genuine will to govern," emphasizing, "If there had been a true will to govern, we would not have missed the flow of public sentiment, and we would not have neglected policy development to win the hearts of vulnerable groups such as youth, women, Honam region, metropolitan area, and centrists. We must strengthen the party’s organization and activities to draw their support."

About the nearly half of the newly elected first-term lawmakers from constituencies, he said, "We will treat each lawmaker as a true constitutional institution and support them to maximize their expertise and abilities, especially creating space for first-term lawmakers to take a leading role in the party’s change and innovation," adding, "We will actively resolve issues so that those prosecuted during last year’s process of blocking the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Act and the election law do not suffer disadvantages."

Lee Jong-bae, the candidate for chairman of the Policy Committee running as Joo’s running mate, also said, "I will create a Policy Committee that communicates and harmonizes," and added, "For party unity, the Policy Committee will take the lead, not with the chairman leading alone, but with mutual respect and free discussion to decide the party’s major policies." He also stated plans to support legislative activities through regional pledge support and customized policy support, pursue transformation into a governing and alternative party through vision and policy development, and focus on developing young policies preferred by people in their 20s to 40s and middle-aged groups.

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