Oh Shin-hwan "Proposes Truce on Opposition Candidate Unification Talks... Joint Primary Election Among Pan-Opposition Factions Off the Table"

"Ahn National Party Leader Proposes Delegation... Only Causes Conflict Between Party Leader and Candidate Dual Roles"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Oh Shin-hwan, a former lawmaker who challenged the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate primary, proposed a 'ceasefire' regarding the opposition candidate unification issue.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd, Oh said, "I propose a unification ceasefire to all People Power Party candidates and Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party," adding, "There is no longer any reason to engage in disputes over the unification issue. Each should present their own vision and policies, and expanding the overall pie of the opposition will be beneficial to everyone."

He emphasized, "The application for the People Power Party’s Seoul mayoral nomination closed as of yesterday," and added, "A joint primary involving all opposition candidates outside the party has now become an outdated scenario." Oh explained, "Paradoxically, the unification equation has become simpler. After the People Power Party candidate is confirmed, there is no other way but to compete for unification with Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party."

Oh specifically pointed to Ahn and suggested delegating the party leadership to him.

He said, "To prevent a mudslinging fight over unification, how about temporarily delegating the party leader role to someone else and focusing solely on presenting your vision as the Seoul mayoral candidate?" He pointed out, "If Ahn continues to hold both the party leader position and the candidate position while taking the lead on unification and integration issues, clashes with the People Power Party leadership will be unavoidable."

He continued, "If that happens, progress will stall and only deepen emotional rifts, leading to the worst-case scenario," and advised, "Leaving unification and integration issues to negotiations between party leadership and having candidates focus on their roles as candidates is currently the best way to increase the chances of successful unification."

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