Despite Park Yongjin's earnest 'unification' request... Kang Hunsik asks, "What impact does 20% + 5% have?"

Kang Hoon-sik Declares Refusal to Unify
"It's Time to Focus on Growing the Pie"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Kang Hoon-sik, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, once again rejected Park Yong-jin's proposal for unification, saying, "At this point, what justification, impact, or emotion would unification discussions have?"

In an interview with SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on the 11th, Kang said, "A person named Kang Hoon-sik needs to launch the plane that talks about the Democratic Party's vision and future on the runway, but it feels like installing a speed bump called unification on the runway."

On the same day, Park held a press conference at the National Assembly and said to Kang, "There is really little time left. For the party convention to be a new starting point toward the Democratic Party's new vision, unification is one of the few remaining catalysts," adding, "I earnestly and sincerely ask once again for unification."

However, Kang expressed a negative stance repeatedly. He said, "I want to ask what ripple effect there would be if a candidate with 20% (Park) and a candidate with 5% (Kang) combine to make 25% without any mechanism," and argued, "Now is the time to focus on expanding the pie."

He continued, "The Chungcheong and Bu-Ul-Gyeong (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam) votes are this week, and through this process, I think it is appropriate to highlight that I am a new option, increase voter turnout itself, and say that there is a new choice called Kang Hoon-sik, so I should vote too, which would bring change to the game or the structure."

Regarding the Chungcheong regional primary, he also responded, "I think it is possible to create a stepping stone for a comeback."

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