Kim Jong-in and Ahn Cheol-soo Jointly Say "President Moon Must Answer on Park Won-soon Case"

July National Assembly Begins... Possibility of Cooperation in Opposition Struggle Between United and People Parties
Consensus on Fact-Finding of Late Mayor Park Won-soon's Sexual Harassment Case

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyemin and Lim Chunhan] On the 16th, as the opening ceremony of the '21st National Assembly' marked the start of the July extraordinary session, the United Future Party and the People’s Party have initiated opposition cooperation. Amid a pile-up of ruling party-driven issues, there is speculation that they will move as a de facto 'one team' in their fight against the ruling party by speaking with one voice.

The biggest common denominator is the sexual harassment case involving the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul. Immediately, Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, issued virtually the same message demanding a clear stance from President Moon Jae-in on the matter.

Chairman Kim held an emergency committee meeting at the National Assembly in the morning and said, "Only President Moon can provide a clear answer as to whether the police informed the Blue House in advance," urging, "The President should clearly express his position regarding the death of former Mayor Park." At the same time, Leader Ahn also urged at the Supreme Council meeting, "The public is curious about the President’s stance," adding, "Since this is a regime-level issue involving key figures of this administration, the head of the regime and person responsible, the President, should respond." Their shared insistence on a prosecution investigation rather than a Seoul city-level fact-finding probe also aligns.

The United Future Party plans to focus its efforts in the early July National Assembly session on the sexual harassment case involving former Mayor Park. The People’s Party, too, intends to scrutinize how far the fact of Park’s accusation has been leaked and whether any laws were violated, so depending on the facts revealed, their messaging could expand into joint action.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Beyond the Park sexual harassment case, the United Future Party and the People’s Party are hinting at the possibility of forming specific committees for each issue to pursue policy alliances as part of their opposition fight. In this regard, it is known that Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, and Lee Jong-bae, policy chief of the United Future Party, are in communication. Earlier, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, also told reporters after meeting with Kwon, "There is something currently underway regarding the National Assembly situation," adding, "There will be an opportunity to explain."

Both parties’ agreement on the necessity of policy development and opposition alliance is a desperate measure to respond to the ruling party’s overwhelming majority and the rapidly changing National Assembly situation. Although they lack the numbers to block bill passage, their aim is to pressure the ruling party with a united voice, share information, and take the lead on issues. This also aligns with the current situation of the United Future Party, which seeks political expansion toward the center beyond conservatism, and the People’s Party, which must overcome the limitations of being a minor party.

Previously, the two parties discussed policies such as basic income together and jointly submitted a resolution on July 3rd to prohibit the suppression of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, marking their joint opposition efforts. Some speculate this could be a prelude to unification, but both parties have drawn a line, saying "unification is premature." Within the United Future Party, there is also a shared view that the party does not need to take the initiative aggressively at this point.

Meanwhile, the United Future Party has decided to file a complaint against Police Chief Min Gap-ryong for leaking the accusation against former Mayor Park. On the same day, Jeong Jeom-sik, legal advisory chairman of the United Future Party, along with lawmakers Kim Jeong-jae, Kim Hyeong-dong, and Yoo Sang-beom, visited the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to submit a complaint against Chief Min on charges of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act and leaking official secrets.

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