Justice Party "An, Claiming to Be Unified Opposition Candidate"... Kwon Eun-hee "Justice Party an Opposition? Democratic Party's Second Fiddle"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is answering reporters' questions after declaring his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 20th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The Justice Party criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, who declared he would definitely run as the unified opposition candidate in next April’s Seoul mayoral by-election, saying he is "usurping" the title. Usurping refers to arrogantly calling oneself a king or using a title beyond one’s status. The People’s Party immediately rebutted the Justice Party’s criticism.

Jung Hojin, chief spokesperson of the Justice Party, released a statement on the 20th saying, "All parties except the ruling party are opposition parties, and the Justice Party is also an opposition party," adding, "Leader Ahn recklessly usurped the title of unified opposition candidate when declaring his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election."

Jung continued, "No matter how much one is free to be mistaken, it is simply pitiful that Ahn seems to be expressing his own wish, as if someone else had made him the unified opposition candidate," reiterating his point.

Regarding the unified candidate for Seoul mayor, he said, "Whether Leader Ahn forms an alliance with the People Power Party to become the 'unified candidate of the conservative opposition' is unrelated to the Justice Party," and criticized, "Furthermore, the Justice Party has no intention of forming an electoral alliance with parties that have different values and policies, so the expression ‘unified opposition candidate’ is rude and inappropriate."

Jung also addressed Leader Ahn, saying, "As someone who ran in the presidential election, he should know better, so it is worrisome that his baseless claim of being the unified opposition candidate will only make him a laughingstock to the public," emphasizing, "The Justice Party will run in next year’s Seoul mayoral by-election. As a progressive opposition party, we will show the vision and values of progressive Seoul to Seoul citizens through the Justice Party’s Seoul mayoral candidate."

In response to the Justice Party’s criticism, the People’s Party immediately rebutted, questioning, "Can they really call themselves the opposition?" On the same day, Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, wrote on her Facebook, "If the Justice Party joined hands with the Democratic Party of Korea and agreed to support the revision of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) law without democracy, and participated in forcibly ending the minority’s right to speak, can they really call themselves the opposition? Isn’t that why they are seen as the Democratic Party’s ‘second fiddle’?"

Floor leader Kwon added, "When Leader Ahn said he was the unified opposition candidate, who would have thought of including the Justice Party? No one would, so there is absolutely no reason for the Justice Party to issue a statement about this. They just wasted their effort," she criticized.

Meanwhile, Leader Ahn held a press conference at the National Assembly communication hall on the same day to announce his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election. He said, "I thought I must throw my body to prevent a situation where regime change becomes impossible due to losing the Seoul mayoral election," adding, "I will proudly run as the citizen candidate of Seoul, South Korea, and the unified opposition candidate to serve as a driving force to stop the regime’s reckless actions."

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