Kim Jong-in "Opposition alliance is a waste of energy... No forces to unite with"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, expressed a negative stance again on the voices calling for opposition coalition ahead of the Seoul mayoral by-election in April next year, saying, "I am skeptical about whether there is a force worth forming a coalition with."

On the 24th, Kim attended a luncheon meeting hosted by the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club at the Seoul Press Center and responded this way when asked about the opposition coalition proposed by Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party.

Kim said, "I judge that the wisest course is for the People Power Party to continuously strive to elect the Seoul mayor in the by-election next April," adding, "There is no need to waste unnecessary energy on an opposition coalition that does not realistically exist."

He drew a clear line, saying, "In the past, people commonly thought that the opposition must unite to win, but if there were a substantial opposition force formed separately, we could try it. However, currently, besides the People Power Party, there is no solid opposition force."

Kim emphasized, "Some people often use the term 'opposition coalition' to secure their personal positions, but if we get distracted by that and waste energy, it will become an obstacle to strengthening our own power."

Regarding the real estate issue, he said, "The current government thinks that raising taxes when apartment prices go up will curb speculation, but every time the government announces a policy, apartment prices have continued to rise," adding, "Because the government never admits failure, the issue has not only failed to be resolved but has emerged as a social problem and eventually escalated into a political issue."

Kim argued, "Speculation is connected to the pre-sale system. The pre-sale system was introduced before 1970 when resources were very scarce and housing policies had to be implemented, so even speculative capital was brought into housing to build more," and added, "Now, I think we should move away from the pre-sale system and shift to a system where construction companies borrow money from financial institutions to build houses, complete apartments, and then sell them to the actual owners."

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