Ahn Cheol-soo Stands Before People Power Party... "At This State, Seoul Mayoral Election Is Difficult"

Lecture at 'Future Innovation Forum' hosted by Rep. Jang Je-won on the 23rd
Ahn Cheol-soo: "Must find a 'third way' rather than becoming a conservative asset"
Joo Ho-young: "Opposition must innovate and unite... Stop Moon administration's reckless actions"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, pointed out on the 23rd in front of People Power Party lawmakers, "At this state, I think it will be difficult not only to achieve a regime change but also to win the Seoul mayoral by-election next year."

On the same day, Ahn gave a lecture on the theme of ‘Opposition Innovation’ at the Korea Future Innovation Forum hosted by Jang Je-won, a People Power Party lawmaker, saying, “The current ruling power is really solid. The solid political camp is tightly united with pro-government civic groups, pro-government media, and a strong fandom.”

Ahn said, "What about our opposition? The problem is that, in fact, it is less trustworthy and has more unfavorable impressions, so it is not regarded as an alternative," adding, “This is also shown in opinion polls. (Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party) has really made many efforts, but this is objective data. In the end, people are extremely disappointed with the ruling party but do not see the opposition as an alternative, so the approval rating does not drop.” He continued, “I think it is very difficult to win with only reflexive benefits on a tilted playing field,” and emphasized, “We can win only by objectively and coldly diagnosing the situation and fixing it.”

Ahn said, "Recently, I had a chance to talk with friends in their 20s and 30s. Most of these friends have no interest in politics at all. They completely shut their ears to the opposition," and pointed out, "No matter how good the message is, there is no trust in the messenger. This is due to the long-accumulated image of vested interests." He added, "With the impeachment overlapping, what was lost even more was the image of a competent economic force," and said, "If there was an image before that they were untrustworthy but did their job well, that was completely lost through impeachment.”

Ahn said, “The main opposition party should not try to become an asset of one camp, or to put it more plainly, an asset of conservatism. If it fights one-on-one, it will lose every time. It is impossible to win,” and stated, “The attitude to take at times like this is that we will become an asset of Korea. If that message is conveyed, regime change will really be possible.” He continued, “Whenever in any country, when two parties compete and one party shrinks so much that it has no future, what they do is find a third way,” and said, “It is not about abandoning the existing line and going a new way. It is about expanding our line.”

Ahn is increasing points of contact with People Power Party lawmakers. The floor leader of the People Power Party, Joo Ho-young, also attended the forum that day. Floor leader Joo said, "I hope this day will be one that instills confidence that the opposition can innovate and unite to stop the reckless run of the Moon Jae-in administration, which is causing despair among the people." Lawmaker Jang said, "(Ahn) directly addressed the economic laws that Chairman Kim and I support," adding, "There will be differences among various policies. I am curious about how to narrow those differences and work together through a public forum." Ahn responded, "I came thinking this would not be a place where I unilaterally express my thoughts, but a place to share our thoughts on Korea’s innovation and regime change.”