Kim Geun-sik Running for Seoul Mayor Primary: "People Power Party, Stop Struggling with Representative Ahn... Failure to Unite Means Opposition's Mutual Destruction"

Kim Geun-sik, the head of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district committee, declared his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election on the 28th of last month. He is the sixth candidate within the party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Kim Geun-sik, the head of the Songpa-byeong party committee and a candidate in the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral primary, raised his voice saying, "The power struggle between Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, and the People Power Party must now stop," and warned, "If unification fails, regardless of responsibility, the opposition will perish together."

On the 23rd, Professor Kim stated on his Facebook, "Those who refuse or reject unification will disappear into the annals of history," adding, "Now, we must focus on expanding the overall support of the opposition by growing each party’s share through healthy competition in preparation for unification."

He continued, "Since all opposition parties have agreed on 'unification at all costs,' a dramatic last-minute unification is definitely possible," and declared, "The three-way winning theory is a total failure."

Regarding the three-way scenario proposed by Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the same party, he said, "It is a tactical statement for a chicken game to seize the initiative in unification, showing the will to increase support so that the People Power Party can win alone," and asserted, "I am confident that this does not mean opposition to unification."

Professor Kim pointed out, "For unification that guarantees victory, it must be established as a 'beautiful one team' unification, not a 'wounded' unification," and emphasized, "If unification happens amid attacks, insults, and criticism, it will fail to consolidate the entire opposition’s share."

Earlier, on the 21st, Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, appeared on MBC Newsdesk and said, "There is no objection to unifying with Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party," but showed a sharp difference in views by stating on the 6th that "If Ahn does not join the party, non-responsible members cannot participate in our party’s primary."