Ahn Cheol-soo: "If President Moon reappoints the Election Commission Chair... it is a death sentence for fairness"

“Kwon Soon-il, If You Show an Ugly Side... The People Will Not Tolerate It”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized President Moon Jae-in on the 8th, saying, “If Chairman Kwon Soon-il of the Central Election Commission is reappointed, it will be a death sentence for fairness and justice and an anti-democratic act that shakes the core of democracy, the election, to its roots.”

On the same day, Ahn said on Facebook, “The ruling party, which has already changed the rules of the game by pushing through the election law fast track, if it handles the referee’s position in this way, the election will be a game where cheating runs rampant but the referee is invisible, making it a pointless match.”

He said, “Chairman Kwon is breaking the precedent by continuing as the election commissioner even after retiring as a Supreme Court justice. He is a chairman fitting for a ‘country never experienced before,’” and emphasized, “The political neutrality of the Election Commission has been possible so far because the Supreme Court justice concurrently served as the election commissioner.”

He continued, “Granting the Supreme Court justice the honor of being the election commissioner means becoming the guardian of the constitutional value of fair elections. Under the separation of powers, it was believed that a Supreme Court justice, free from the executive and legislative branches, could manage elections fairly without bias toward any side,” adding, “Even under military regimes, the precedent was established that when the Supreme Court justice’s term ended, the election commissioner would also step down.”

Ahn said, “Chairman Kwon should continue the proud tradition that his predecessors have upheld with dignity. I hope he shows a beautiful and dignified image befitting the 5th rank in the national protocol order,” and added, “He is already a successful person who has gained what he wanted and risen as far as he could. What more does he seek to show an ugly side? If he continues to show such an ugly side, the people will not tolerate it.”

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