Lee Nak-yeon: "We Must Present a Candidate Who Reassures, Not One Who Causes Anxiety"

Gwangju City Council Press Conference "Only Verified Candidates Can Expand the Undecided and Moderate Voter Base"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, stated that a reassuring candidate should be presented instead of an unstable one.

On the morning of the 16th, Lee held a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council briefing room and said, "This presidential election will be won by competing with the candidate's expandability to capture the votes of the non-partisan and moderate groups."

He said, "This presidential election is a battle of 1%. It will be the most urgent presidential election in history," adding, "President Kim Dae-jung won by only a 1.6% margin, and President Roh Moo-hyun's vote difference was 2.3%. Although there was the Candlelight Revolution, President Moon Jae-in's vote share was 41.1%, so even when we won, it was very difficult."

He continued, "Only a verified candidate can have expandability to the non-partisan and moderate groups. That expandability lies with me, Lee Nak-yeon," and asserted, "The presidential election can collapse with one verification, so there must be no variables."

He added, "The People Power Party is moving first to replace players for victory in the presidential election," emphasizing, "They are calculating to discard an unstable candidate with many flaws and put forward a safer candidate."

Lee said, "We are at the risk of failing to recreate the regime. Various polls show that the public favors regime change over regime continuation," explaining, "If the Democratic Party primary proceeds as it is, victory in the presidential election cannot be guaranteed."

Furthermore, he said, "For the Democratic Party to win, another drama is needed. Please create a drama that causes a turnaround in Gwangju and leads to a runoff," emphasizing, "If Gwangju creates a runoff, I will become the Democratic Party's final candidate and be the first to report the presidential election victory to the citizens of Gwangju."

He also stated, "This presidential candidate must be a figure who continues the philosophy of Presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in, produced by the Democratic Party, while newly developing their policies," adding, "The middle-class economy, new welfare, and new peace initiatives I proposed are policies that inherit and develop the philosophy of past Democratic governments. Gwangju, which supports and loves the three presidents Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in, will produce the fourth president."

Meanwhile, Lee also sent a congratulatory message regarding the mass production of the first Gwangju-type job vehicle, the 'Casper.'

He said, "When I was Prime Minister, I served the President with all my heart for this vision," adding, "The vigorous run of Casper is a run of coexistence, inclusion, and sharing. It will be a run that solves social polarization."

He further emphasized, "The citizens of Gwangju deserve not only political pride but also economic pride," and said, "Gwangju has infrastructure for coexistence, inclusion, and sharing. Based on that infrastructure, Gwangju-type jobs can be advanced while leading industries such as AI, semiconductors, and autonomous vehicles."

He also presented a vision for Gwangju.

Lee said, "We will continue to connect the spirit of Gwangju to the future and promote the relocation of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court to Gwangju," explaining, "Germany places the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court not in the capital Berlin but in the city of Karlsruhe, separating judicial and political powers to practice real separation of powers."

He promised, "I will make Gwangju a judicial capital like Karlsruhe, Germany."

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