Ahn Cheol-soo: "President Moon, I Expected a Bold Reversal Card but It Was Rejected"

"Carry Out Personnel Reshuffle and Declare Cooperation with the Opposition"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized President Moon Jae-in’s August 15th commemorative speech, saying, “I expected a bold reversal card promising a major shift in the national administration’s direction and personnel reform, but it was as I feared, nothing more.”

In a party leader’s commentary on the same day, Ahn said, “Whether the lame duck crosses the threshold or can be driven far away depends solely on the president’s will, but he kicked away an important card.”

Ahn pointed out, “It is a great national crisis, and for a president whose lame duck is at the threshold, the speech was too complacent and ordinary. As a result, it was the 75th Liberation Day where the irresponsible remarks of the head of the Liberation Association stood out more than the president’s speech.”

He emphasized, “Diplomatic issues with neighboring countries, including Japan-Korea relations, can find solutions if approached from the perspective of national interest based on cold reality rather than regime interests. Regarding inter-Korean relations, true change in North Korea can be brought about only when South Korea’s national dignity and the universal values and standards of the international community are upheld together.”

He continued, “If inter-Korean relations and diplomacy are used for domestic politics, problems cannot be solved and serious losses to national interests will occur. What this administration needs in foreign and security affairs is cold reality recognition and rational judgment.”

Ahn said, “The driving force of the president’s administration is political assets, policy assets, and moral assets. Political assets have begun to collapse due to a sharp drop in approval ratings. The 180 seats without public support are meaningless.”

He added, “Judging from the current administration’s governance style, it will act recklessly out of anxiety, and in the process, greater and more frequent destruction of common sense, illegalities, and law violations will emerge. The more that happens, the deeper it will sink into the quagmire. Of course, it could be reversed by opposition party mistakes, but wouldn’t that be unrelated to overcoming the national crisis or improving the quality of life for the people?”

Ahn said, “Abandon arrogance and stubbornness and carry out personnel reform. Declare cooperation with the opposition and put it into actual practice. The only reversal card now is administrative reform. Past administrations failed because they did not do so. When the administration abandons obstinate politics and listens to the opposition and the people, it will be able to overcome the looming lame duck crisis of the regime and the national crisis.”

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