Yoon Sang-hyun "'Let's Agree on a Joint Declaration for Running in the Capital Area'"
Joo Ho-young "It's Not Respectful to Constituents"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the ruling People Power Party and a frontrunner for the party leadership, expressed his full agreement with fellow party member Yoon Sang-hyun's proposal for 'running in challenging districts.'
On the 2nd, Ahn stated through his social networking service (SNS), "Yoon proposed that all candidates for party leader declare their candidacy in the Seoul metropolitan area. I fully agree," he said.
He added, "I have already said that next year's general election will be decided in the Seoul metropolitan area. The Democratic Party leadership is almost entirely based in the metropolitan area, but we hold only 17 out of 121 seats there," and continued, "To win more than 70 seats in the metropolitan area and secure over 170 seats in total, we must also confront the leadership battle in the metropolitan area head-on."
He further stated, "As seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, the country that wins is not the one whose command is only issuing orders from the rear but the one with leaders who lead the war on the front lines."
Immediately after Ahn posted on SNS, Yoon responded via SNS, saying, "Ahn said he strongly agrees with my proposal that all party leader candidates run in the metropolitan area. We share the same recognition that the metropolitan area is the strategic battleground that will decide the general election," and proposed drafting a joint 'Metropolitan Area Candidacy Declaration.'
He said, "Floor leader Joo Ho-young and emergency committee chairman Jeong Jin-seok have already acknowledged that the metropolitan area is a strategic battleground. Let's stop the pointless debate about who is a key figure close to the president," and added, "Those who intend to run for party leadership to lead the metropolitan area battle should join me in drafting the agreement."
He continued, "By showing direct agreement to the 'Metropolitan Area Candidacy Declaration,' let's verify together who truly leads the success of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. I believe all candidates will participate in negotiating, drafting, and announcing the 'People Power Party Leader Candidates' Metropolitan Area Candidacy Joint Declaration' as a pledge of solidarity for the Yoon Seok-yeol government."
However, on the same day, Floor Leader Joo said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "It is not desirable for lawmakers to arbitrarily change their constituencies," and pointed out the risks of the 'running in challenging districts' proposal, saying, "In the last election, we moved constituencies a lot, which was evaluated as self-harm."
He said, "Politicians grow and gain affection through long-term bonds with local residents, so changing constituencies just one year before the election is disrespectful to the voters," and added, "Strategically, if absolutely necessary, a few cases of such strategic choices can be made, but overall telling everyone to move constituencies and run in the metropolitan area is not something to do lightly before a major election."
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