Yoon's Side: "Now Is a Cooling-Off Period... Will Resume Unification Talks with Ahn's Side"

People Power Party: "We will continue any efforts for regime change," "We will not let go of the hope"
People's Party draws a line on unification possibility... reiterates "determination to complete the race"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, are moving after greeting each other at the "2022 Presidential Candidate Invitation Debate" hosted by the Korea Journalists Association and jointly organized by six broadcasting companies, held on the afternoon of the 11th at the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, has withdrawn his proposal for 'opposition unity,' but the People Power Party is increasingly expressing intentions to revive the effort. There is a growing internal voice that anything must be done to achieve a regime change.

A spokesperson for Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, said on the 21st, "Originally, after tonight’s debate, we planned to bring up various topics and try to have a conversation about (unity), but we were taken aback by Ahn candidate’s unexpected press conference yesterday," adding, "We plan to take a cooling-off period today and attempt dialogue again." He continued, "Now is the time to be careful with words," and added, "It is a time when we must not provoke the other side or bring up unfounded stories."

Kwon Young-se, head of the People Power Party’s election campaign headquarters, also responded to a question about whether the possibility of unity still remains during a meeting with reporters right after the campaign headquarters meeting, saying, "If it is an effort for regime change, we will continue any effort." This is interpreted as meaning that they will keep unity with candidate Ahn in mind amid voices insisting that only opposition unity can bring about regime change. Lee Yang-su, the senior spokesperson of the campaign headquarters, also said, "We will not let go of the thread of hope."

While still rejecting unity through opinion polls, it appears they are placing hope on unity through direct negotiation between candidates. Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, said on MBC Radio’s 'Kim Jong-bae’s Focus,' "Politics is a living thing, and from what I hear from people around candidate Ahn, there is still a strong voice saying unity must be achieved, so the possibility is alive," adding, "During the presidential election period, one day can bring about changes bigger than a usual month, so the possibility of change is definitely there."

However, Ahn’s side, which withdrew the unity proposal the day before, is once again emphasizing their determination to complete the race and drawing a line regarding the possibility of unity. Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the People’s Party, said on CBS Radio’s 'Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,' in response to the question, "If the People Power Party accepts unity through opinion polls, would the possibility of unity arise?" "The People Power Party is a political force that has no intention of selecting a candidate through such a fair and just method to achieve a better regime change, so there is no expectation of even a shred of sincerity."

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