Kwon Seong-dong: "To Restore Parliamentary Politics, I Advocate for Prior Negotiation and Subsequent Struggle... Will Prove Opposition's Sincerity"

People Power Party Floor Leader Candidate Relay Interview② Rep. Kwon Seong-dong
Negotiator Rather Than Fighter "The Public Recognizes Sincerity Through Negotiation Efforts"
"Maximize Operation of Policy Committee to Enhance Policy Capability"

Kwon Seong-dong, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] "Before the April 7 by-elections, the ruling party insisted on introducing a special prosecutor for Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and a national audit, but they have not shown any intention to reach an agreement and have been avoiding the issue until now. The next floor leader of the People Power Party must resolve this matter as soon as possible."

In a recent interview with Asia Economy, Representative Kwon Seong-dong, who is running for the People Power Party floor leader election, emphasized the opposition party's active response to real estate issues such as land speculation allegations. Representative Kwon stressed, "It has caused a great sense of deprivation among the people. This must be eradicated as illegal activity." He argued that the opposition party should go beyond criticism and present alternatives regarding overall real estate policies. He stated, "I will discuss what needs to be supplemented regarding the three real estate lease laws and propose alternatives," expressing his intention to present the opposition party’s ‘improvement plans’ on issues such as the comprehensive real estate tax, the realization of official property prices, and easing capital gains tax.

Among the floor leader candidates, Representative Kwon is differentiating himself by putting ‘negotiation’ rather than ‘struggle’ at the forefront. He said, "What the people ask of us is not to fight," adding, "The past year of the 21st National Assembly was a parliament dominated by confrontation, division, arrogance, and unilateralism, and we must break away from that." He proposed, "I want to restore parliamentary politics by suggesting negotiation first, then struggle," and said, "If we make efforts to negotiate, when we do have to struggle, the public will recognize our sincerity and believe our claims are right." His theory is that negotiation efforts ultimately underpin the opposition party’s fighting power.

In this regard, Representative Kwon repeatedly expressed a political view that emphasizes presenting alternatives rather than criticism. He promised, "If I become floor leader, I will operate the Policy Committee to the fullest and strive to enhance policy capabilities by receiving advice from external experts."

Regarding the internal party debate about the impossibility of a Yeongnam candidate, Representative Kwon drew a clear line. Although he could be the biggest beneficiary of the Yeongnam candidate impossibility theory, he opposes such controversy. He said, "The logic that candidates from certain regions are acceptable while others are not does not hold," and added, "I believe anyone with passion and ability can be chosen." He continued, "If you rely on regionalism to achieve something, what kind of authority will you have even after succeeding?" and said, "I do not want to rely on such things to do anything."

Meanwhile, he also promised to ‘level up’ the group of first-term lawmakers, considered a key voter bloc in this floor leader election. He argued, "We must utilize the abilities and passion of first-term lawmakers," adding, "That is how we enhance our party’s capabilities." He said, "I will create various subcommittees under the Policy Committee and assign roles to party members specialized in related fields," and "I will also help them gain election experience and policy-making experience during the presidential election phase." Representative Kwon emphasized, "Helping first-term lawmakers grow is a capability and duty of the floor leader."

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