Heo Kyung-young Appears on White Horse Declaring Candidacy: "I Will Protect This Country"

"Regime Change, No Hope Unless It's Heo Gyeong-yeong"
To Ahn Cheol-soo: "The Nation's Treasure... Proposal for Unification"

Honorary Representative Heo Kyung-young of the National Revolutionary Party is riding a white horse on the 18th in front of the Haengju Fortress Great Victory Gate in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, moving toward the presidential election kickoff event venue. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Heo Kyung-young, Honorary Representative of the National Revolutionary Party, declared his third presidential candidacy on the 18th.

On the day, Representative Heo appeared in front of the Haengju Fortress Great Victory Gate in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, dressed as a general and riding a white horse to announce his presidential bid. Behind the declaration site was a banner with the phrase "I will protect this country, Hero of Troubled Times Heo Kyung-young" alongside him.

He later changed into a suit and wore a red apron, calling it the "Haengju skirt," while reading his statement at a press conference.

Representative Heo said, "There is no hope for regime change unless it is Heo Kyung-young," and pledged, "If elected, within two months of taking office, I will give an emergency livelihood support fund of 100 million KRW per person to all citizens aged 18 and over, and provide a monthly national dividend of 1.5 million KRW."

He added, "When people get married, I will give 100 million KRW and 200 million KRW for housing funds, and for childbirth, 50 million KRW per person," claiming, "Young people who cannot marry because of money are eagerly waiting for my TV appearance."

He stated that when he ran for the Seoul mayoral by-election in April, he paid 1.97 billion KRW in comprehensive income tax, ranking first among candidates in tax payments, and that his sole shareholder company "Haneulgung" paid about 2.8 billion KRW in corporate tax, asserting, "I have excellent foresight and management skills."

He said, "If we save 70% of the approximately 550 trillion KRW annual budget, 385 trillion KRW remains," and added that by reducing prisons by 90%, switching to a property-proportional fine system to secure 100 trillion KRW annually, and collecting 200 trillion KRW in taxes through anti-tax evasion measures, a total of 758 trillion KRW in resources can be secured each year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Representative Heo also held a performance of sword fighting against the invading Japanese pirates. Acting out repelling the attacking Japanese forces, Heo shouted, "I will protect this country." His side explained that Haengju Fortress was chosen as the departure ceremony site to honor the spirit of ancestors who fought against the Japanese invasions and to reaffirm the determination for national reform.

Earlier, on the 17th, ahead of his presidential bid, Representative Heo proposed a unification primary to Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, in a pre-released declaration statement.

He said, "I respectfully propose to Leader Ahn that the National Revolutionary Party and the People’s Party hold a unification through discussions on policies pursued by both parties and a national primary reflecting the will of the people," adding, "Leader Ahn is a treasure of this country and a fresh political leader representing the underprivileged."

Meanwhile, Representative Heo previously ran for president in 1997 and 2007, finishing seventh both times. He also lost, finishing third, in the April 7 by-election.

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