Regarding the general election outlook, "Both parties are almost equal"
On the merger of the Korean Party and the New Conservative Party, "Back to Saenuri Party"
"Hwang Kyo-ahn has effectively captured the judgment against President Moon"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Kim Jong-in, chairman of the Korea Development Strategy Institute and former emergency committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, harshly criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the preparatory committee for the founding of the People’s Party (tentative name), for modeling himself after French President Emmanuel Macron on the 11th. Kim said, “If the name Ahn Cheol-soo had emerged in 2011 with a so-called vision, he might have succeeded. However, after all this time and trying various things, suddenly now he says he wants to embrace the spirit of Macron. I don’t think anything will be achieved by that.”
On the same day, on CBS Radio’s 'Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,' Kim said, “The timing and the basic mindset seem somewhat different from Macron’s,” adding, “Macron is someone who appeared with concrete plans, but Ahn talks a lot without any particularly concrete plans.”
Regarding the April 15 general election outlook, Kim said, “I think the situation for both parties is almost similar,” and added, “The ruling party always goes with a certain frame, so opinion polls tend to show them a bit higher, but if you trust and follow that too much, you will inevitably be disappointed.”
He criticized the merger efforts between the Liberty Korea Party and the New Conservative Party, saying, “In the end, it’s becoming the Saenuri Party of 2016 again.”
He continued, “There needs to be a clear direction for what the new party aims to achieve,” and added, “The primary task for success will be whether it can transform into a party that aligns with the current sentiments of our people.”
Regarding Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, running in Seoul’s Jongno district, Kim evaluated, “He is not running against the Democratic Party’s Lee Nak-yeon candidate but rather saying he will judge President Moon Jae-in, so I think he has chosen the right course.”
On the outcome of the Jongno race, Kim said, “We have to wait and see,” and added, “I don’t think the initial opinion poll numbers are that important.”
Regarding the controversy over the Liberty Korea Party’s former leader Hong Joon-pyo and former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Tae-ho being sent to difficult constituencies, Kim said, “I don’t understand the purpose of encouraging them to run in tough districts. Do you think they would do it if they really didn’t want to? We need to ask who is responsible for the current state of the Liberty Korea Party.”
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