[Local Election Relay Interview] An Minseok "Completing Gyeonggi Tasks with Breakthrough and Drive"

Local Election Relay Interview③ Gyeonggi Province Governor Preliminary Candidate Ahn Min-seok, Democratic Party of Korea
"A strong leader is needed rather than a model student or scholar-type leader"
Politicians must speak the language of the future... Who will lead Gyeonggi Province well?
Democratic Party becoming outdated... Granting voting rights to new party members is crucial for the party's future

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] An Min-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who has announced his candidacy for the Gyeonggi Province governor election this June, calls himself a 'master of fighting.' He is reflecting on the moments when he fought with his whole body against the Park Geun-hye administration's state corruption ahead of this election.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 6th, Rep. An said, "When I fought against the state corruption forces, even receiving threats to my life, I never bowed to injustice until the end," and defined the newly launched Yoon Seok-yeol government as an "era of barbarism." He emphasized that a leader with 'breakthrough power' and 'driving force' is needed to prevent the rollback of reform tasks carried out so far and to complete Lee Jae-myung's Gyeonggi Province agenda. He explained that, rather than a model student or scholar-type leader like the other three intra-party competitors (Kim Dong-yeon, Yeom Tae-young, Jo Jeong-sik), he aims to grow Gyeonggi Province tenfold with a strong leader through the '10-10-1' strategy.

Ahn Min-seok, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The following is a Q&A with Rep. An.

- The Gyeonggi Province governor primary is a four-way race. Why should it be An Min-seok in this context?

▲ I believe this is not a time of peace. An era of barbarism is approaching. This is a moment that requires strength. A strong-willed leader is needed rather than a scholar-type. The three Democratic Party candidates who have emerged are good model students. However, a leader who can stand up to the Yoon administration's unilateralism is necessary. When tracking down Choi Soon-sil's state corruption, I went alone to Germany to investigate. At that time, someone even tried to kill me. Still, I did not compromise. It was not because my fists were strong, but because I had an unyielding will that would not bend. Now is a moment that requires strength, so a strong-willed leader is needed.

- Is it said that you resemble former Gyeonggi Province governor Lee Jae-myung in terms of breakthrough power and driving force?

▲ Lee and I share the common point that we moved from Gyeongsang Province to Gyeonggi Province when we were 13 years old. But more than that, we share temperaments such as not tolerating injustice and pushing through to the end once we decide to do the right thing. Especially, the driving force and breakthrough power that Lee possesses are exemplary qualities that all administrators should have. In that regard, I have many similarities with him. About ten years ago, I promoted free school meals when I was the ranking member of the National Assembly's Education Committee. I took the lead in discussing this with education superintendents nationwide.

Currently, survival swimming, which becomes a mandatory subject from the third grade of elementary school, was first started by me in 2011 in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, my constituency. In 2010, when I first proposed introducing survival swimming into public education, emphasizing that "getting one question wrong in Korean, English, or Math is not fatal, but drowning is," what do you think the reaction was? I was called crazy. After being re-elected in Osan, I was told I had nothing visible to show. At that time, there was only one place in Osan where children could learn swimming. The administrative district was small, and I had no budget authority, but I kept meeting people and persuading them to break through. After the Sewol ferry disaster, the idea to expand what was done in Osan nationwide was proposed, and now survival swimming has become a mandatory subject. This is breakthrough power. Many remember me for my strong image at the National Assembly audit, which is indeed the source of my leading support rate for the Democratic Party's Gyeonggi Province governor candidate, but more importantly, politicians must speak the language of the future. I hope people judge well who is the leader most capable of leading Gyeonggi Province in the style of Lee Jae-myung.

Ahn Min-seok, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

- The battle over the 'primary rules' is intense.

▲ Changing the rules after the players have entered is cheating. Kim Dong-yeon, leader of the New Wave, wants to reduce the proportion of party members with voting rights, but this does not align with political reform. It is self-contradictory. The party's core is its members, and expanding members' rights is the task, but reducing rights (reducing the proportion of party members in the primary) is a contradiction from someone who talks about political reform. The national participation primary proposed by Rep. Jo Jeong-sik is impossible. It costs 300 to 400 million won to set up call centers and secure the electorate. Should we do such high-cost politics? Secondly, it takes a lot of time. Considering the time and cost of reaching agreements and rule meetings, it is impossible.

- You emphasize giving voting rights to new party members.

▲ The problem with the Democratic Party is that it has become an outdated party. The young people who came to the Democratic Party during the 2022 'No Wind' have now all become in their 50s. (When you go to the city and provincial party offices) 20-something members are called 'natural monuments,' and 30-somethings are called 'rare animals.' There were so few young members voluntarily joining the Democratic Party. So, the image of being outdated is inevitable. However, during this presidential election, about 200,000 young members joined, so there is now hope. We must give them party rights and arm them to protect the Democratic Party. Giving voting rights is for that purpose. They demand prosecutorial reform and media reform. We must undergo a transformation centered on these young people with reform voices. Instead of the current system where voting rights are granted only after six months of membership, a 'paradigm shift' is needed. Regarding this, I propose that Democratic Party candidates gather and hold a public press conference. Giving voting rights to new members is a matter that concerns the future of the Democratic Party, so I hope candidate Kim Dong-yeon will not consider personal advantage or disadvantage and support this.