Jang Sung-min: "It Is Absurd That the Entire Opposition Leadership Attended the Third Candidate's Party Founding Event"

"No Plan B for the Opposition Camp... Must Focus on Regime Change"

Jang Sung-min, Chairman of the World and Northeast Asia Forum

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Jang Sung-min, Chairman of the World and Northeast Asia Forum, criticized the participation of many members of the People Power Party leadership in the founding promoters' meeting of former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon's new party, "New Wave," calling it "an inappropriate act."

Jang, who was a preliminary candidate in the People Power Party's presidential primary, wrote on his Facebook on the 24th, "It looks awkward for the leadership of the main opposition party to fully attend the founding promoters' meeting of a third candidate whose presence is around 1%."

He continued, "This could send the wrong signal to the massive support base longing for a regime change, and at that moment, a new wave of instability could ripple through the opposition camp," adding, "The leader and leadership of the main opposition party must act with political prudence. They should always think and act with regime change in mind."

He criticized, "However, the full attendance of the main opposition party leadership at the founding promoters' meeting?not even the founding ceremony?of a party with 1% support could send a new green light to the opposing camp and a red light to the opposition camp," and said, "Even if the current actions are explained as efforts to later merge with that party or bring in that candidate to expand the regime change coalition, the reason seems somewhat awkward."

Jang emphasized, "There is no Plan B in the opposition camp. If the primary does not break down and the opposition party's presidential candidate is finally decided, the probability of regime change centered on that candidate is over 90%," adding, "The opposition leadership must focus solely on managing a successful primary. They must concentrate all their efforts on selecting the presidential candidate who can most reliably achieve regime change through a democratic primary process."

Finally, Jang said, "Currently, the politics of opposition unification and coalition should proceed centered on the candidate once the party candidate is selected; it is not a matter for the party leader and leadership to work on before the candidate is chosen," and added, "The party leader and leadership must place all their focus on the party candidate primary."