Sim Sang-jung Confirmed as Justice Party Presidential Candidate with 51.12% Vote Share: "End of Winner-Takes-All Two-Party System" (Summary)

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 12th, Assemblywoman Sim Sang-jung was elected as the Justice Party's 20th presidential candidate.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Justice Party announced that in the runoff vote, Assemblywoman Sim received 6,044 votes out of a total of 11,993 valid votes, winning with 51.12% of the vote. Former leader Lee Jeong-mi received 5,780 votes, accounting for 48.88%.

In her acceptance speech as the presidential candidate, Assemblywoman Sim said, "This presidential election is a contest between 'old vested-interest past politics' and 'future politics that joins hands with citizens,'" adding, "Politics that forces us to choose the lesser evil instead of the best must end now."

Assemblywoman Sim questioned, "Will you give power to the People Power Party, the originator of speculation, or entrust power again to the Democratic Party of Korea, which has neither the will nor the ability to curb speculation?" She emphasized, "I will dismantle the real estate speculation republic and block the root causes of inequality." She stated, "We will begin fundamental solutions based on three core principles of the new land public concept: land excess profit tax, the one household one house principle, and strengthened development profit recovery." Addressing Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, she proposed, "I suggest an unlimited one-on-one debate to determine who is truly qualified to dismantle the real estate speculation republic."

Assemblywoman Sim also said she would start a pluralistic responsible coalition government, not a winner-takes-all two-party system. She said, "The transitional challenges of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and climate crisis, along with overlapping issues such as extreme inequality, gender, youth, and regional extinction, cannot be solved by one president or one party," adding, "I will be the first president to initiate political change by sharing responsibility not only with the Democratic Party, which leads the National Assembly with 180 seats, but also with various political and civic forces."

As the confirmed Justice Party presidential candidate, Assemblywoman Sim’s first schedule is to visit Maseok Moran Park on the morning of the 13th to pay respects at the graves of national democratic martyrs including the late leader Roh Hoe-chan and labor activist Jeon Tae-il, followed by visits to the Memorial Tower and the Unknown Martyrs Tower at the National Cemetery.

Lee Dong-young, chief spokesperson for the Justice Party, said, "Now the Justice Party will completely change the 'vested-interest political brawl presidential race' that disregards citizens' lives and goes backward," adding, "We will transform the presidential race, which has become a chaotic battlefield for vested interests due to 'Hwacheon Daeyu and the prosecution’s indictment scandal,' into an election where ordinary citizens compete with visions and alternatives on how to take responsibility for their livelihoods."