People Power Party Floor Leader Candidate Kwon Seong-dong: "I Will Become a Fair, Just, and Sophisticated Conservative"

Yoon to Employ Various Methods
Independent Lawmakers Should Be Reinstated
First-Term Party Leader Could Emerge

Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference to announce his candidacy for the floor leader election at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul on April 19, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Four-term lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who has announced his candidacy for the floor leader of the People Power Party, stated on the 19th, "We aim for centrism and rationality based on common sense, and instead of relying on the Democratic Party of Korea's mistakes any longer, we will show the people that we can do better."

At a press conference held at the National Assembly on the same day, Kwon said, "If I become the floor leader, I will concentrate our capabilities to realize the philosophy of fairness and justice desired by the 2030 generation, and a refined conservatism, into laws and policies through establishing a constant network with youth centered on first-term lawmakers," expressing his intention to run.

He emphasized, "The floor leader ahead of the presidential election must run solely toward the cause of regime change without selfishness," adding, "Throughout my political career, I have worked with the mindset that any position I take is my last."

After the press conference, Kwon met with reporters and commented on the redistribution of standing committee chairmanships, saying, "In the past, our senior politicians divided the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee between parties," and "The reason such a practice was maintained was because it was highly reasonable and aligned with democratic power and the essence of parliamentary politics, which is dialogue and cooperation." He added, "For a year, the Democratic Party completely ignored the distribution of standing committee chairs and monopolized them unilaterally," and said, "If they intend to heed the public sentiment shown in this by-election, I think they will respond to negotiations."

He emphasized the importance of opposition unity for the next presidential election. Regarding former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, Kwon said, "Although I have a personal friendship with him, if he becomes a member of the party leadership, he must manage the presidential election fairly," but considering Yoon's high approval ratings, "In modern democratic politics, politics without parties is impossible, so I plan to use various methods to make contact." On the issue of independent lawmakers returning to the party, he said, "All lawmakers agree that the opposition must unify."

Regarding the pardon of former presidents, he responded, "The general public thinks it might be too harsh," and added, "The sooner, the better in my opinion." He also expressed a positive view on first-term lawmakers running for party leader.

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