Ahn Cheol-soo: "Next Year's Presidential Election Forces Choice Between 'Drunk Driving vs. Beginner Driving'"

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party (left) and former Dongyang University professor Jin Jung-kwon are holding a DMZ book concert for their co-authored dialogue collection, Debate on Innovation in the Republic of Korea, Crossing the Line, at a studio in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 7th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, said regarding next year’s election, "The people are being forced to choose between two options: a drunk driver and a novice driver."

On the morning of the 7th, Ahn held a book concert titled "Debate on Innovation in the Republic of Korea, Crossing the Line" with former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon at a studio in Mapo, Seoul. They conducted a 1 hour and 30 minute discussion with about 50 young people from the 2030 generation.

Ahn said, "I believe it is unacceptable to entrust the fate of the Republic of Korea to such people (a drunk driver and a novice driver). I have also stepped forward with difficulty to offer the people a new choice."

He continued, "When I thought about why the people called me (into politics) in 2012, I humbly realized a few years ago that at the point where the industrialization era has passed and we are moving into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, someone like me with diverse experience in IT, medicine, management, and education fields might be able to change the times. To accomplish that, I have chosen failure so far. It is a difficult path, but ultimately the people have the power to change the world, and this time as well, I am walking a difficult path to appeal to the people to realize this and change the world," he said.

On the same day, former professor Jin also explained the necessity of a third political ground. Jin emphasized, "People are forced to choose between the worst and the less bad options, and I think it is necessary to reject that."

Jin also said, "We need to introduce a presidential runoff voting system. Because it is not in place, the system forces people to vote for candidates they do not want due to the spoiler effect. The people are frustrated and have reached a tipping point. The two parties have alternately proven this. I have a sense of problem about how long this should continue," he said.

Ahn and former professor Jin published "Debate on Innovation in the Republic of Korea, Crossing the Line," which compiles five dialogues, on the 5th. They discussed future discourse and solutions to create a "better Republic of Korea."

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