'Third Zone' Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Dong-yeon: "Diplomatic Strategy Should Be a Key Issue in This Presidential Election"

Ahn Cheol-soo "Must Secure 10 Super-Gap Technologies"
Kim Dong-yeon "Diplomatic Policy Subordinated to Camp Logic"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, and Kim Dong-yeon, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, attended the lecture titled "The Path in the Drama, The Future of the Democratic Republic" held on the 13th at 'House Cafe' in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, and Kim Dong-yeon, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, both considered 'third zone' presidential candidates, agreed that 'diplomatic issues' should be a major focus in their next presidential election strategies. They emphasized the need to present a new direction for South Korea amid rapidly changing international circumstances.

On the 13th, Ahn and Kim attended a lecture titled "The Path Within the Drama, The Future of the Democratic Republic" held at 'House Cafe' in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. This was their first meeting since Kim announced his presidential candidacy on the 8th. The lecture centered on the recently published book "Geukjungjigye" by Jeong Deok-gu, chairman of the Near Foundation.

In the designated discussion, Ahn stated, "The core of the recent US-China new hegemony war is the 'technology hegemony war.'" He added, "South Korea’s geopolitical position has not changed, but its strategic value varies depending on the situation. The new Cold War era of US-China science and technology hegemony could be both a crisis and an opportunity for us."

He continued, "Since the presidential election is taking place at such a critical moment, I believe the election’s main topic should be this (diplomatic strategy) for South Korea to have a future," and stressed, "It is urgent to establish a survival strategy that proactively maximizes national interests." To this end, he emphasized ultra-gap technology. He explained, "South Korea can survive by maintaining an ultra-gap in the semiconductor field," and added, "Securing about ten ultra-gap technologies in promising fields such as secondary batteries and 6G is sufficient."

Former Deputy Prime Minister Kim argued for a diplomatic strategy that breaks away from partisan logic. He said, "Our diplomacy changes every five years according to partisan logic, so we need to consider how to lead it consistently," and noted, "The inconsistency in diplomacy, the lack of philosophy and pursued values caused by diplomatic policies being subordinated to ideological partisan logic, are closely related to domestic politics."

Kim also stated that diplomatic issues must be discussed in the current presidential race. He said, "No presidential candidate talks about the future, economy, or global issues," and added, "International politics and diplomatic environments are rapidly changing, and the fundamental roots of the post-World War II economic order are being shaken. We need to present a direction and raise the level of debate in the presidential race."

Jeong, who gave the lecture, explained how South Korea can maintain sovereignty amid the US-China hegemony war. He emphasized, "If South Korea does not possess 7 to 8 strategic weapons in core science and technology source technologies, it will inevitably become subordinate to China," and stressed, "While maintaining alliances, we must establish a system so formidable that no other country can approach, and pursue the path of self-reliance."

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