Sim Sang-jung on Ahn's Unification Proposal: "Regrettable and Disappointing"

Ahn Cheol-soo proposes unification to Yoon... "For a better regime change"
Sim Sang-jung: "The two-party hostile symbiotic politics forcing a less bad president must end"

Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party presidential candidate, is speaking at the '#Erased_People' 129 Health and Welfare Counseling Center Counselors On-site Meeting held on the morning of the 13th at the Health and Welfare Counseling Center meeting room in the Government Complex Gwacheon, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 13th, Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, officially proposed to Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, a unification of opposition candidates through a 'public opinion poll primary' method. Meanwhile, Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the Justice Party, said, "It is regrettable and disappointing."

On the same day, Candidate Sim posted a message titled 'Sim Sang-jung will firmly oppose two-party politics' on her Facebook, expressing this view.

She opened by saying, "In this presidential election, Candidate Ahn has strongly expressed his will to overcome the two-party system. However, today, he proposed unification to Candidate Yoon."

She continued, "Although he put forward the justification of ending the old regime and regime change, is it possible to part ways with the old regime while joining hands with one pillar of that old regime?" and directly questioned, "Where has the declaration that regime change between the two parties is merely a change of vested interests gone?"

Candidate Sim also said, "Hasn't unification been abused as a means to extend the incompetent two-party system that has lost the people's trust?" and added, "The top priority for South Korea, which has entered a turning point, is political change. It is time to end the tiresome hostile symbiotic politics of the two parties that force the people to accept a less bad president."

She then stated, "I, Sim Sang-jung, will firmly oppose the 35 years of two-party politics that made South Korea a winner-takes-all society," and said, "I will steadfastly pioneer the path where labor, youth, women, countless minorities and the weak, and the majority ordinary people of this era, who have been erased by the two parties, become the mainstream of politics."

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, officially proposed unifying opposition candidates to Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, during a special press conference live-streamed on YouTube on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Candidate Ahn held a press conference via YouTube in the morning and announced, "For a better regime change, that is, to end the old regime and achieve national unity, I propose unification of opposition candidates."

He said, "Unification of opposition candidates should be a coalition and alliance to move toward the future," and added, "It must encompass the vision of regime change, political change, and era change, and the result must lead to an overwhelming victory."

He continued, "An overwhelming victory is only possible when we show the people that this path is the way to the future through a national justification and a rational unification process."

Candidate Yoon responded to Ahn’s proposal for candidate unification through public opinion polls by saying, "I will consider it, but there are also some regrets."

After meeting with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at a hotel in Songpa-gu, Seoul, he told reporters, "I positively evaluate the proposal made by Candidate Ahn in the dimension of the cause for regime change," and said this. When asked, "What are the regrets?" Yoon replied, "I will not give a detailed answer."

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