Hataekyung Announces Presidential Candidacy... Pledges 'Direct Election of Prosecutor General and Metropolitan Mega City by Regional Units'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, declared his candidacy for the presidential election on the 15th. Declaring a "change of era," Ha promised reforms such as the direct election of the Prosecutor General and administrative district reorganization to foster metropolitan mega-cities at the regional level.

On the 15th, Ha announced via non-face-to-face methods such as YouTube, "I will participate in the People Power Party's presidential primary."

Ha said, "Following the April 7 by-elections and the People Power Party's national convention, a flow of change close to a big bang is striking the political world," adding, "I believe the public's demand embedded in this unstoppable wave of change is, in one word, a change of era." He introduced, "The people's wish is clear: to end the old 20th-century politics as soon as possible and to practice politics suitable for the 21st century."

Ha stated, "Watching the 'Cho Kuk incident' and the 'Chu-Yoon conflict,' I thought that if we do not fix the broken calculator of Korean politics, big trouble will come," and added, "I want to create a Korea where science and intelligence overcome irrationality and rumors, a country I want to build as president."

Ha said, "The president will focus on national strategic tasks, and the cabinet led by the prime minister will cooperate with the legislature to practice consensual democracy, creating an advanced 21st-century government." This means reducing the president's powers while elevating the status of the prime minister and the legislature.

He also promised the direct election of the Prosecutor General. Ha said, "We must abandon the backward idea that the regime should control the prosecution," and added, "I will return the president's right to appoint the Prosecutor General to the people. By introducing the direct election of the Prosecutor General, I will make the prosecution the people's prosecution, not the president's." He also promised to abolish the Ministry of Justice. Ha said, "Essential legal administration for social operation can be sufficiently handled by creating a Legal Administration Office integrated with the Ministry of Government Legislation."

Ha presented the 21st-century "Jangbogo Project" aimed at overseas expansion as his vision. He said, "We must move toward an era of outward economic expansion and K-economy, competing with advanced countries and cooperating with developing countries using our capital and technology," emphasizing, "While upgrading our industrial structure through miraculous investment in science and technology, we will build a K-Economic Cooperation Belt in developing countries worldwide to expand Korea's economic territory."

He also revealed a national development strategy to nurture local regions by abolishing the method of "hyper-concentration" in the Seoul metropolitan area. Ha introduced, "I will abolish the current 17 city and provincial system, which originated from the eight provinces of the Joseon Dynasty, and implement administrative district reorganization to foster metropolitan mega-cities at the regional level," adding, "I will revitalize local areas and Korea through a multi-core development project that intensively allocates national future strategic projects to local regions and disperses economic power."