Nowungrae: "I will be the deck, not the party's poster" Announces candidacy for Democratic Party Supreme Council member

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] No Woong-rae, a four-term senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea, declared his candidacy for the Supreme Council on the 20th, saying, "I will become the deck, not the banner, of the party."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

No said at a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office in the afternoon, "I will become a lifelong party member who realizes my dream and the Democratic Party's dream of building a ruling party for 20 years and 100 years."

He said, "The people gave overwhelming power in the general election, but three months after the election, the wind of public opinion is unusual," adding, "This party convention must be a place to respond to this order."

No said, "What reason would there be for me, a four-term member, to run for the Supreme Council?" and answered, "It is an infinite responsibility and single-minded loyalty to respond to the stern command of the people and party members." He added, "I will devote my whole body to serving the Democratic Party."

He emphasized, "I will take on infinite challenges and responsibilities for two tasks in the future: proving that there will never be a lame-duck period in the Moon Jae-in administration and continuing the candlelight revolution with a victorious Democratic Party through the success of the Moon administration."

After his speech, when asked by reporters about how to deal with recent unfortunate incidents in the party, including the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, he replied, "I believe there were abnormal and suspicious actions by the party that did not meet the people's expectations, and those parts must be corrected and return to the original intention." He continued, "I think a warning light has been turned on that the current attitude could distance us from public sentiment. We must renew our resolve and start anew."

Regarding the candidacy for next year's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, he said, "There are clear party rules, and I think they must be respected." He added, "The owners of the party are the party members, and the owners of the country are the people, so we must comprehensively review those opinions and make a final decision."

When asked if he had talked with former lawmakers Kim Boo-kyum and Lee Nak-yeon, who are also running for party leadership, before announcing his candidacy, he said, "I expressed my intention to run and said I would actively become the center of the party and serve as a bridge of communication to support it."

Regarding the relocation of the National Assembly and the Blue House to Sejong City, mentioned in the negotiation group speech by Democratic Party floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon that day, he said, "It is not desirable to kill one while saving another by lowering Seoul's competitiveness," adding, "If we give up Seoul's competitiveness, which has the best urban competitiveness, to create new competitiveness, will it be beneficial overall? More discussion is needed."

On the supply easing measures through the release of the greenbelt, he emphasized, "It could be like pouring oil on fire," and said, "We need to consider ways to prevent unearned income by relaxing conditions for high-density development, redevelopment, and reconstruction, and through measures like profit recovery systems."

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