Yoon: "Overcome Opposition Majority with Constitutional Spirit"... Ahn: "No National Assembly Experience, You'll Know It's Not True Once You Try"

Yoon Seok-yeol "DJ also governed with 79 seats"
Ahn Cheol-soo "Must resolve with a National Unity Cabinet"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, revealed differing views on solutions to a situation of a minority government after winning the presidential election. While Candidate Yoon emphasized the spirit of the constitution, Candidate Ahn pointed out a lack of political experience.

At the 2nd presidential candidate debate hosted by the National Election Commission, Candidate Ahn asked about solutions to the minority government situation faced after a regime change.

In response, Candidate Yoon said, "In the past, the DJ (Kim Dae-jung) administration also governed with 79 seats and faced a large opposition party," adding, "The important thing is that whether it is the president or the legislature, we must properly uphold the constitution and sincerely share constitutional values. If we do so, cooperation is always possible. If the government with 180 seats is obstructed from working, I believe that is not the intention mandated by the constitution."

Candidate Ahn replied, "You will realize it is not so once you try," and said, "Although the spirit of the constitution is good, when concerns are raised due to lack of parliamentary experience, what happens on the parliamentary floor is different." He continued, "The way to overcome this is to advocate for a national unity cabinet," adding, "If one appoints unilateral personnel, they face opposition from the opposition party, but if external experts are also appointed to the national unity cabinet, it gains public trust and even a 180-seat opposition party would have no reason to oppose."

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