Kwon Youngguk Meets Workers Daily, Differentiates Himself from 'Centrist-Conservative' Democratic Party

Labor Issues Take Center Stage in Presidential Election

Kwon Youngguk, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Labor Party, continued his pro-labor campaign activities on the third official day of the presidential election campaign, May 14, by meeting with workers. As the sole candidate from a progressive party, he is seeking to distinguish himself from the Democratic Party, which positions itself as centrist and conservative.

Kwon Youngguk, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Labor Party, visited the high-altitude protest site of Sejong Hotel and Geotonggo Branch on the 12th. Democratic Labor Party

On the morning of May 14, Kwon is holding a policy agreement ceremony with the School Irregular Workers Solidarity Council, where he will discuss plans to reform the wage system to address low-wage issues. He is particularly focusing on finding solutions to structural low wages, such as unpaid work during breaks, part-time employment, and base salaries below the minimum wage. In the afternoon, he will attend a policy debate on healthcare labor pledges.

The Democratic Labor Party began its election campaign at labor sites. In the early morning of May 12, Kwon visited the high-altitude protest site of Sejong Hotel and Geotonggo Branch, stating, "With comrades here, I cannot give up," and added, "I will make sure to raise the issue of the high-altitude protest during the TV debate." For his first campaign rally, he chose Guro Digital Complex, formerly known as the Guro Industrial Complex. Kwon emphasized, "This place, once the site of the Guro Alliance Strike, is considered the starting point of progressive parties, and it is also where the Democratic Labor Party headquarters is currently located. I will create a world where all working people are protected by labor laws. I will become a progressive president who transforms the lives of workers."

The previous day, Kwon held a labor meeting with garment workers. He listened to the concerns of garment factories facing closure due to the aggressive expansion of Chinese e-commerce, as well as the treatment of workers in businesses with fewer than five employees. Kwon remarked, "For progressive politicians like me, the garment industry holds a special significance because of the memory of labor martyr Jeon Taeil. Politics exists to address the complex crises faced by garment workers. I will make this presidential election about the lives of precarious workers."

Kwon was selected as the candidate of the Social Transformation Presidential Election Solidarity Council, which is composed of the Justice Party, Labor Party, Green Party, and civil society organizations. The Justice Party earned the right to participate in TV debates by securing more than 3% of the proportional representation vote in the 2022 local elections for metropolitan councilors. Kwon, a former worker at Poongsan Metal, passed the bar exam in 1999 and has since worked in the field of labor, including as a legal representative for Ssangyong Motor's mass layoffs. His key pledges include: ▲reforming the electoral system ▲amending Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act ▲introducing a 1 million won citizens' minimum income ▲establishing a super-wealth tax on the top 0.1%.

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