Jang Je-won: "People Power Party Should Actively Respond to Ahn's Unification Proposal... Let's Break Down Walls"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Jang Je-won, a member of the People Power Party, suggested that the party should respond more actively to Ahn Cheol-soo's proposal for unifying the Seoul mayoral candidate and proposed creating a unified primary election stage for opposition candidates.

On the 27th, Jang cited Ahn's recent media interview on Facebook, saying, "Ahn is not asking for a flower palanquin but a fair primary election."

He said, "He is willing to be kindling, but intends to be kindling that maximizes the possibility of victory," adding, "Now the ball is in the People Power Party's court."

Jang opposed the closed opinion that Ahn's joining the party is necessary and also opposed the method of unifying with Ahn after selecting the People Power Party candidate, saying it could reduce the party's primary to a preliminary round.

Instead, he proposed breaking down the party walls and working to select a unified opposition candidate. He said, "This time, breaking down the party walls and creating a 'ring for a unified primary election' to produce a unified opposition candidate is the best option," and added, "A change in attitude from Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in is necessary."

He criticized, "A cynical attitude toward Ahn, saying 'He is just one of the mayoral candidates, so there is no need to react strongly,' does not help the election at all," and said, "Showing personal likes or dislikes is not the right attitude as a party leader."

Jang said, "In a situation where defeat is inevitable without unification, saying 'We don't need Ahn Cheol-soo, so we'll do it among ourselves' is not right," and added, "We should skip the exploratory battles and wrestling matches and agree on a straightforward and clean unification primary method."

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