Ahn Cheol-soo: "Even Without Guns, If Democracy and Rule of Law Are Trampled, It's Not a Democratic Regime"

"On Women's Day, Democratic Party-affiliated Organization Heads Must Sincerely Apologize for Sexual Crimes"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate for Seoul mayor, criticized on the 8th, "A regime that tramples on democracy and the rule of law and privatizes power is not a democratic regime," adding, "Even if they do not wield guns and swords, regimes without the will to protect democracy and uphold the rule of law, and people who pretend to be good on the surface but commit all sorts of bad deeds behind the scenes, absolutely have neither the qualification nor the will to form a democratic government."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ahn said, "The recent LH employee speculation scandal vividly reveals the essence and identity of the Moon Jae-in administration," and criticized, "In a regime that has privatized power, this case clearly shows how corruption can be committed without any sense of guilt in the public sector, and why eradicating corruption is impossible without practical democratic control and strict rule of law."

He also expressed skepticism about the government’s willingness to uncover the truth. Ahn pointed out, "The Moon Jae-in government lacks the will to uncover the truth," and said, "The entire nation is enraged, so why hasn’t the president issued even a single apology?" He continued, "If the prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection are excluded and the investigation is left to the government itself, will the substantive truth be revealed? It’s like excluding the Saheonbu and Uigeumbu (Joseon Dynasty’s government watchdog agencies) and ordering a magistrate, who might have taken bribes from local officials, to investigate the corruption of those officials. Can a proper investigation be conducted this way?"

Ahn emphasized, "This administration must clearly understand how turbulent public sentiment is right now," and said, "There is no other way but to mobilize all possible means to root out the problem and punish offenders severely." He added, "Just as the truth that those who rise by the sword perish by the sword, those who made money through corrupt land deals must be clearly shown that they will be ruined because of the land."

Additionally, regarding ‘International Women’s Day,’ Ahn stated, "The fact that sexual crime scandals involving Democratic Party metropolitan leaders have erupted three times consecutively in recent years clearly shows that women’s rights cannot be fully protected by law alone," and expressed, "On this Women’s Day, I sincerely hope that the party leaders apologize for the sexual crimes committed by their affiliated officials."