Ahn Cheol-soo: "It's Disrespectful for Incumbent Lawmakers to Arbitrarily Change Their Constituencies"

Increasing Activities in Seongnam and Bundang to Defend Constituency
"Pro-Yoon Nomination? If Imposed, It Will Backfire"

On the 25th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, said, "I have a basic principle that incumbent lawmakers should not arbitrarily change their constituencies, as it is disrespectful to the local residents."

This was in response to recent rumors in the political sphere about Kim Eun-hye, the presidential office's chief public relations officer, running for the general election in Seongnam Bundang-gap, Gyeonggi Province, and rumors about Ahn running in a difficult district. Recently, Ahn has been actively engaging in his constituency, showing his determination to defend it.

In a phone interview on YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' on the morning of the same day, Ahn said, "Basically, it is not respectful to the local residents, and first of all, I am doing my best to fulfill my duties for the local residents who elected me."

He added, "In my case, I was elected through a by-election less than a year ago. It takes quite some time to understand local issues and listen to the thoughts of local residents before solving problems," and criticized, "Can someone suddenly parachute in and make that work?"

Ahn Cheol-soo, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Recently, Ahn has been increasing his schedule in his constituency of Seongnam and Bundang. There is even a joke about 'one Bundang a day.' On the 22nd, he attended the '17th Seongnam Area Welfare Facility Sponsor Matching Ceremony' hosted by the Seongnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and on the 20th, he participated in the 'Village Harmony Festival' commemorating the 50th anniversary of city promotion, hosted by the Bundang Seohyeon Youth Training Center. He is also conducting party membership campaigns targeting residents at places like Seohyeon Station and Pangyo Station.

Considering that presidential candidates and high-profile politicians are voicing their opinions on central political issues such as politics, diplomacy, and the economy to highlight their stature and presence, Ahn's recent activities can be seen as a strong intention to run in his current constituency.

Ahn explained, "I visit various parts of the constituency at least twice a month," adding, "While encouraging party membership is one purpose, I consider it a time to communicate about local issues." He also said, "Many people are disappointed with political parties, but parties are a very important foundation in democracy," and added, "I think it is also important to play a role in creating a good image."

Regarding speculation that the presidential office's intentions might be reflected in the candidacy of so-called 'pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) figures' like Chief Kim, Ahn responded, "I will say this in principle: interference by the presidential office in candidate selection is against the law." He explained, "Former President Park Geun-hye actually received a prison sentence because of that. It is legally prohibited," and added, "More importantly, it is about public sentiment. There have been many cases where such top-down impositions caused backlash and led to election failures."

Ahn said, "If you really want to win the general election, you must ultimately conduct reform candidate selection, that is, nominate truly professional, ethical, and fresh talents to win," and added, "That is the way for the president and government to survive, and for the government to succeed so that the people can be happy. I believe following that principle is the royal road to victory."

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