Jung Mi-kyung: "Ahn's Red Tie, an Expression of Unification Decision"

"Criticism of collusion with the ruling party, yet another case of double standards... Still not coming to senses"

Jeong Mi-kyung, the newly appointed Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, is attending the first Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on June 14, 2021, delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Woo-seok] Jeong Mi-kyung, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, said on the 3rd, "Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo made up his mind (to unify) and showed a red tie color during the TV debate," adding, "It was an expression of a decision of the heart."

On the same day, Supreme Council Member Jeong said on CBS Radio's 'One Match' regarding the unification negotiations between Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, "People very close to Candidate Ahn asked about the internal atmosphere of the People Power Party and said the unification was all over, asking if they should give up. I told them not to let go of the line until the end," adding, "Those people (Ahn's close aides) persuaded Candidate Ahn before the debate not to make very strong remarks against Candidate Yoon during the debate. They discussed this with each other, and it seems that was successful."

He continued, "So what happened was that Candidate Ahn made up his mind and showed a red tie color," adding, "It was an expression of a decision of the heart, and after that, as reported in the media, Assemblyman Jang Je-won and Assemblyman Lee Tae-gyu maintained continuous relations and worked on various (unification negotiation) tasks."

Regarding the critical views on Assemblyman Jang Je-won's involvement, he said, "Assemblyman Jang Je-won is someone who actively thought about unification, advocated for it, and worked hard," adding, "I actually want to praise Assemblyman Jang Je-won for doing very well this time."

On concerns about intra-party conflicts after the presidential election due to People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok's remarks on fairness and competition principles toward People Party members, he drew a line, saying, "(Leader Lee Jun-seok) can say, prepare, and think that way, but the people who desire regime change right now probably have no thought of the local elections," adding, "They are pouring all their hearts into overwhelmingly achieving regime change, so that is a matter for later and not a situation to discuss now."

Regarding the Democratic Party's criticism of the 'collusive unification,' he countered, "The people define the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration of the Democratic Party as hypocritical," adding, "Yesterday (the 2nd), when unifying with candidate Kim Dong-yeon, they praised integration and the future in every way, but today, when it comes to unification with Candidate Ahn and the People Power Party, they call it a power-sharing collusion, showing hypocrisy again. I think they still haven't come to their senses."

On the theory of appointing Ahn as Prime Minister if Candidate Yoon is elected, he said, "It depends on Candidate Ahn's will," adding, "If Candidate Yoon becomes president, he will request that if Ahn Cheol-soo wants to serve as the responsible prime minister, he will allow it."

However, regarding Ahn's potential candidacy for the next People Power Party leader, he said, "(The current party leader's term) is known to be until June next year. If we win the presidential election, we cannot hold the party convention before that," adding, "Because Leader Lee Jun-seok's term exists, after serving as responsible prime minister, (Ahn) can challenge for party leader."

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