Ahn Cheol-soo on Yoon's Pledge: "Soldiers' Salary 2 Million Won? Non-commissioned Officers Don't Even Earn That Much..."

"Current Non-Commissioned Officer Salary Less Than 2 Million Won"
"People Power Party Must Respond on What They Will Do"

Ahn Cheol-soo, presidential candidate of the People’s Party. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, criticized Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, regarding his pledge of "2 million won monthly salary for soldiers," asking, "What about the salaries of non-commissioned officers and officers?"

On the 10th, after a meeting of the election campaign committee held at the National Assembly, Candidate Ahn told reporters, "Currently, the salary of non-commissioned officers does not reach 2 million won. Shouldn’t there be an explanation about what will happen to the salaries of non-commissioned officers and officers?"

Earlier, on the 9th, Candidate Yoon announced a one-line pledge on his Facebook stating "2 million won monthly salary for soldiers." He estimated that 5.1 trillion won would be needed to fulfill this pledge and said he would secure the funds through expenditure restructuring. However, Candidate Yoon did not mention the funding for raising the salaries of non-commissioned officers and officers separately.

In response, Candidate Ahn said, "To my recollection, the People Power Party once said, 'If the salary of non-commissioned officers is less than that of soldiers, who would apply to be a non-commissioned officer?'" He added, "I think the People Power Party should provide an answer regarding this matter."

Regarding his stance on the controversial issue of abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which has been debated recently in political circles, Candidate Ahn said, "We are actually preparing to announce a comprehensive government reorganization plan," and did not clearly state his position for or against it. He further explained, "I have already mentioned the Prime Ministerial system for the Ministry of Science and Technology, and besides that, when we announce the government reorganization suitable for the current era, we will explain it comprehensively."

Additionally, on the topic of "unification of opposition candidates," he maintained his previous position, saying, "I am not considering unification."

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