Ahn Cheol-soo Declares Unification Talks Failed... "Responsibility Lies with Yoon" (Comprehensive)

Emergency Press Conference Held at the National Assembly on the Afternoon of the 20th
Claims Responsibility for Failed Unification Lies with the People Power Party

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the 20th, declaring the breakdown of unification with Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong and Park Juni] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, has withdrawn his proposal for opposition unity with Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and declared that he will complete the race to the end.

On the afternoon of the 20th, Ahn held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly and stated, "From now on, I will follow my own path," adding, "I sincerely apologize and ask for the understanding of the people who felt confused by the unification proposal." Ahn had proposed an opposition unity through a public opinion poll-based 'national primary' to Yoon on the 13th, but the People Power Party rejected this plan.

Ahn claimed that the responsibility for the failure of the unification negotiations lies with the People Power Party. He emphasized, "I gave Candidate Yoon a sufficient period of one week out of the three weeks before the general election," and "I clearly state that the responsibility for the failure of unification lies with the main opposition party and Candidate Yoon."

He said, "After much deliberation, despite criticism and ridicule asking if I was going to withdraw again, I took a gamble on unifying the opposition candidates for a better regime change a week ago," adding, "However, Candidate Yoon, who received my proposal, gave no response for a week. Rather, even though I publicly disclosed my thoughts through a press conference, various people from the main opposition party distorted and belittled the sincerity of my unification proposal, claiming it was Yoon’s intention."

He continued, "My proposal was not something that required a long time to consider. It was not my method but the method that the People Power Party had been using for their primaries," and added, "However, no responsible response came from Candidate Yoon. Over the past week, through non-response and spreading fake news, the main opposition party has clearly and sufficiently shown that they have neither the will nor the sincerity for unification."

Then Ahn said, "Now is the time to end unnecessary and exhausting unification debates and focus on discussions to overcome the crisis in the Republic of Korea, survival strategies, and moving toward a competitive future," and urged, "I ask the people to choose who is more moral, who has more vision, who is more professional, and who is the most suitable candidate for the next president."

He also showed his determination. Ahn said, "No matter how great the practical benefits or how warm the path may be, I will not take it if it is not right. If it is the path toward change, reform, and the future of the Republic of Korea, I will take that path. I will never settle for vested interests or ride on the reflexive benefits from the opponent’s mistakes without any effort," adding, "I, Ahn Cheol-soo, though lacking in many ways, will not compromise with injustice under any circumstances and will take the right path even if it means suffering losses, as long as Korea can end division and conflict, move toward unity and the future, end the old system, and open the era of science and practicality."

It was revealed that Candidate Yoon called Ahn in the morning but did not discuss unification. When asked by reporters after the press conference whether he had discussed opposition unity with Yoon during the morning call, Ahn replied, "No."

He also pointed out that there is not enough time to discuss unification from now on. Ahn explained, "Before candidates meet directly, it is the order to have a rough discussion on the big direction at the trusted working level and then have talks between candidates," adding, "Starting again from now is physically and temporally impossible."

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