Ha Tae-kyung "Justice Party Should Ally with United Party"... Kim Jong-dae "Wanting to Go Together Is Greedy"

Hataekyung "Democratic Party, Atmosphere of a Second Yushin Dictatorship"
Kim Jongdae "Rapid Legislative Mobilization, a Serious Threat and Challenge to the Legislative Function of the National Assembly"

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the United Future Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] On the 31st, Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the United Future Party argued that active cooperation with the Justice Party is necessary to block the ruling Democratic Party's legislative dominance, but the Justice Party rejected the proposal for cooperation.

Rep. Ha and Kim Jong-dae, head of the Justice Party's Korean Peninsula Peace Headquarters (former National Assembly member), appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day to criticize the Democratic Party's rapid legislative process.

Rep. Ha said, "They (the Democratic Party) say that fighting monsters makes you resemble monsters, but right now they themselves are creating a second Yushin dictatorship atmosphere."

He added, "They completely skipped the core of parliamentary procedure, the committee review, and the step-by-step discussion and negotiation of bills this time," and sharply criticized, "In reality, they are practicing so-called people's democracy or people's dictatorship from the past activist mindset, a kind of populist dictatorship."

He continued, "Isn't the ruling party mostly composed of former activists? Former Rep. Lee In-young recently became the Minister of Unification, and from his perspective, the United Future Party is a target to be overthrown," adding, "The president says to support everything unconditionally, and if not, they will beat you down. There is a strong underlying hostility because we are heirs of the military regime."

He went on, "The Democratic Party sees the opposition as a target to be defeated, but the Justice Party is seen as a tool to be used," criticizing, "They use them when needed and discard them otherwise."

Rep. Ha explained, "Looking at the Justice Party during the recent Park Won-soon Seoul mayor incident, there have been many changes between the old left and the new left," and "Especially, the new politicians there actually had almost no difference in perception from the United Future Party."

He added, "If they keep voicing the same opinions, naturally cooperation can follow," and said, "Politics is fundamentally about cooperation. With the right issues and at the right timing, cooperation is inevitable."

However, Rep. Ha also predicted that cooperation with the Justice Party would be difficult. He said, "The Justice Party seems to have a very passive and negative DNA regarding cooperation," and "So they only think about cooperation during elections, but for cooperation to work well during elections, it must be practiced regularly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Rep. Kim criticized the Democratic Party's rapid processing of the 'Lease 3 Act' controversy, saying, "The Justice Party will continue to point out the dangers of rushing," and "Currently, the Democratic Party's bypassing of normal procedures to rapidly push through only the laws they want is a serious threat and challenge to the legislative function of the National Assembly."

Regarding claims that the opposition was excluded from discussions, he said, "What does the United Future Party not participating in discussions have to do with the subcommittee and committee review being skipped? At least Democratic Party members should conduct deliberations, but this is almost a 'blind procedure,'" and pointed out, "Blaming the opposing party misses the essence of legislation and the fundamental function of the National Assembly."

Regarding Rep. Ha's mention of cooperation with the United Future Party, he said, "(Rep. Ha) is almost known for enjoying biting the Justice Party, so this is somewhat surprising," and dismissed the idea, saying, "Wanting to form a joint front with the United Future Party in criticizing the government is excessive ambition."

He added, "No matter how much you criticize the Democratic Party, opening the door to conservative forces is nonsense," and "It may happen that the United Future Party and the Justice Party coincidentally say the same things, but it is excessive to use words like cooperation or alliance."

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