[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, stated on the 25th, "If the opposition is divided and the presidential election is held without opposition unity, I believe it is a certain defeat," and added, "We must now extend our hand so that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol comes to our party even more."
On the same day, Kim appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' and said, "Putting forward a single opposition candidate in the election is the practical and only way to win the presidential election."
He argued that potential presidential candidates outside the party, such as former Prosecutor General Yoon and Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, should be protected. Kim said, "The political force that is distributing and reproducing documents like the X-file is the Democratic Party of Korea," and added, "From our standpoint, the party must respond to this situation and protect our candidate," mentioning, "Representative Lee Jun-seok of the People Power Party has not joined the party, so it seems they consider him not really one of us."
He said, "Ultimately, these are people we must unite with as a single opposition candidate someday, and if they falter, the possibility of regime change actually decreases." He added, "Currently, the support rate for our party's candidate is such that they barely make it into the rankings," and said, "The bus leaves at the end of August, so if the door closes then, it’s useless even if they come later. Is this the situation?"
Kim also mentioned the possibility of opposition unification even after the party's primary. He said, "Even after our party's candidate is selected, we must not neglect efforts to create a single opposition candidate until the very end." However, he noted, "Creating a single candidate means uniting all supporters and bringing them together as one," and added, "If too many emotional wounds are inflicted during this process, supporters may not unite. Therefore, from the beginning, we must consider all these people as our own family and continue together; only then can we create a single candidate and further achieve complete unification of supporters."
Meanwhile, Kim said, "As former Prosecutor General Yoon declares his candidacy, he should set and proclaim a few principles," and added, "Even if it concerns events before his marriage, isn’t it family? If family members are involved in legal issues, he should take the lead in ensuring they are severely punished and establish this as a principle."
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