Son Hak-kyu: "21st General Election 'Generational Change'... More than 50% of Candidates Will Be from the 20s to 40s Generations"

Young Candidates Receive Up to 100 Million KRW Election Expense Support
Three Major Election Reform Visions Including National Nomination Presented
On Merger with Alternative New Party and Peace Party: "Building a New Political Force Comes First"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the Bareunmirae Party, stated on the 9th regarding the strategy for the 21st general election, “The era’s demand for the 21st general election is generational change,” and added, “We will nominate candidates aged 20 to 40 for more than 50% of the seats,” and “To reduce the financial burden of election expenses on the nominated young candidates, the party will support up to 100 million won in election costs if the given qualifications and conditions are met.”

At a New Year press conference held at the Yeouido party headquarters on the same day, Leader Sohn said, “The political realignment to be carried out ahead of this general election must be a political realignment for generational change, which is the era’s task of this election.”

He pointed out, “Every election season, each party makes a fuss about recruiting talented individuals. However, despite the loud publicity about talent recruitment, where have all those talents gone now?” and “Because young people are only used as tools for power politics, they soon become henchmen of old-fashioned politics.”

He continued, “The Bareunmirae Party declares that the future generation is an equal subject of the coalition,” and emphasized, “Generational change cannot be achieved with just one or two young people. The Bareunmirae Party will ally with the future generation and become their partner so that they can be the main actors of political reform.”

Leader Sohn presented three major election revolution visions to fulfill the era’s tasks of political structural reform and generational change: ▲People’s Nomination Revolution, ▲Avengers Revolution, and ▲National Assembly Revolution.

He stated, “We will no longer conduct secret nominations in the party leader’s office or anti-democratic nominations, but will carry out people’s nominations that accurately reflect the will of the people,” and “We will put forward Avengers, that is, hidden heroes who truly represent the people such as the future generation, women, teachers, salaried workers, and socially disadvantaged, who have contributed to national development, and make them the new main actors in politics.”

Leader Sohn said, “I will take the lead in transforming the National Assembly from a place stigmatized by privilege and unfairness into a great hall for ordinary people,” and “We will link the salaries of our National Assembly members, which are among the highest in the world, to their attendance rates at plenary sessions and, in the long term, reduce them to the median income level.”

Regarding the return of former Bareunmirae Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, Leader Sohn said, “I believe that former lawmaker Ahn will play a significant role in the victory of the centrist reform party in the general election,” and “I will do everything I can to enable him to fulfill that role and responsibility.”

On the integration with the Alternative New Party and the Party for Democracy and Peace, he said, “I think we will eventually go together, but for now, securing the central forces of centrist reform and establishing a new political force centered on the future generation must come first,” and “An alliance with the Alternative New Party and the Party for Democracy and Peace might be perceived as an alliance of Honam forces, which would not greatly help the development of our country’s politics.”