Ahn Cheol-soo: "I Will Generously Accept Unification Negotiations Even If They Are Disadvantageous to Me"

Ahn Cheol-soo, People's Party Seoul Mayoral Candidate / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate for Seoul mayor, expressed his willingness to generously accept the opinions of the People Power Party during the unification process to secure a victory for the opposition in next month's by-election.

On the 13th, Ahn stated on Facebook, "I apologize that the negotiations to select a unified opposition candidate for Seoul mayor have not gone as smoothly as the public expected."

The working-level negotiation teams of Ahn, who is pushing for opposition unification in the Seoul mayoral by-election, and Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party parted ways without reaching an agreement on unification the previous day. During the meeting, there were even raised voices exchanged between the two sides.

Ahn explained, "I have already delegated full authority to the negotiation team and only added one request: to negotiate generously by solely honoring the will of the citizens. I thought the citizens' expectations would be met without any issues, but it is regrettable that the agreement between the candidates does not seem to be sufficiently respected on site."

Addressing the People Power Party, Ahn said, "As the largest opposition party with 103 seats, I hope the big party will not push the smaller party too hard and will show a generous attitude."

He also showed a strong determination for unification. Ahn emphasized, "We must achieve unification. The desperate efforts for unification must continue every minute and every second. Let us move forward looking only at the citizens who support the opposition and the people who want a change of government."

He added, "Today, I told our working-level negotiation team to do their best to resume talks quickly. Even if it is somewhat disadvantageous or unreasonable for me, I requested them to boldly accept what should be accepted and proceed with the negotiations. This is because the election should be one where the opposition wins rather than me winning," and said, "I will stake everything to ensure that all opposition supporters, including the People Power Party and the People's Party, come together and unite their strength to make this a winning election."

A part of the post by Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate for Seoul mayor, uploaded on Facebook on the 13th (Photo by Facebook)

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