Sim Sang-jung: "The Era of Alternating Power Must End... No Unification with the Democratic Party"

"Will Give Hope to People Disappointed with Two-Party Politics"
"Core of Inequality is Real Estate... Focus on Establishing Public Concept of Land"
"No Reason to Unite with Democratic Party"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Sim Sang-jung, a Justice Party lawmaker who has thrown her hat into the presidential race, emphasized on the 29th, "To create a new future, two-party politics must come to an end," adding, "If the people create a tripartite division and make Sim Sang-jung president with 34%, we will form the first responsible coalition government in the history of Korean politics and boldly pursue transformative politics."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At a press conference held online via Zoom on the day she officially declared her presidential candidacy, Sim evaluated that "the people are deeply disillusioned with the Moon Jae-in administration," and said, "I believe the people are determined that 'the era of alternating power must end now.'"

She also firmly ruled out any unification with the Democratic Party.

Sim stated, "If policies and visions align, we cooperate; if not, we do not collaborate," explaining, "During the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations, legislative cooperation reflected the influence of candlelight citizens on the government formed through the Candlelight Revolution. The Justice Party was the leading force in the regime change phase." She added, "We hoped for bolder reforms from the Democratic Party and supported them in line with the candlelight aspirations, but there is little difference between them and the People Power Party on policies such as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and easing of comprehensive real estate tax. Therefore, there is no reason to unify candidates with the Democratic Party," drawing a clear line.

Regarding the expectation that the ruling and opposition parties will have a "neck-and-neck" race in the March election next year, she dismissed it as "wishful thinking."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

She criticized, "Giving alternating opportunities to industrialization and democratization forces was meant to remove the shadows of compressed growth and usher in an era of decentralization and autonomy where individual quality of life diversifies, but over the past 30 years, they have only been busy supporting market power." She continued, "We must end the era of the market and open the era of citizens. This election is not a battle between progressives and conservatives but a battle between the past and the future. I will start transformative politics to overcome the climate crisis and inequality," she emphasized.

Sim views real estate as the core of inequality and said she will focus on establishing the concept of public land ownership.

She stated, "Ownership of land by individuals or companies for necessary purposes is recognized, but unnecessary land and land held for speculative gains will be strongly suppressed through heavy taxation," adding, "This is not to collect taxes but to incentivize selling the land to ensure efficient use of national territory." She also added, "I will definitely gain public consent for the land excess profit tax to concretize the concept of public land ownership."

Along with this, she said, "I plan to massively supply a new concept of public housing so that citizens without homes can live with peace of mind," explaining, "So far, only long-term rental apartments have been supplied, but we will provide various forms of public owner-occupied housing with occupancy conditions tailored to the needs of demanders."

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