"No 'Politics' in the Republic of Korea"... Emphasis on 'Political Restoration'
Attended by Kim Jong-in, Lee Sang-min, Yang Hyang-ja, Ryu Ho-jeong, and others
The new party "Saeroun Seontaek" (New Choice), promoted by former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, held its founding promoters' meeting on the 19th and began full-scale preparations for its establishment.
Former lawmaker Geum held the founding promoters' meeting at the Hi Seoul Youth Hostel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon.
In his greeting on the day, former lawmaker Geum stated, "We will create a party that makes reasonable and common-sense arguments, respects people with different opinions and competing forces, and focuses on real issues that affect our daily lives and livelihoods to find solutions."
He pointed out, "The worsening polarization is plunging the people into a swamp of anxiety," adding, "Proper politics is needed, but there is no politics in South Korea right now."
Former lawmaker Geum criticized the two major parties, saying, "Whether progressive or conservative, they have no interest in the difficult and hard lives of citizens and only focus on ideological conflicts while looking solely at their fervent supporters." Regarding the former Moon Jae-in administration, he said, "They talked about politics of integration, but once in power, they devoted all their efforts to political revenge under the pretext of clearing out deep-rooted evils." About the Yoon Seok-yeol government, he remarked, "The newly established Yoon government goes even further. The president talks about 'the agitation and conspiracy of communist totalitarian forces,' intensifying hostility among the people."
Former lawmaker Geum said, "We will create a sensible and rational party that accepts and respects differences in opinions as 'differences' and end politics that regard competing parties as evils to be driven out."
He added, "When I said we were creating a new party, people asked, 'What ideological identity does the new party have? What figures will it rely on? Or with whom will it merge?' I would answer that none of those things are important." He emphasized, "The answer we can give is 'the restoration of politics.'"
He continued, "Politics that seeks better solutions through dialogue and debate, politics that creates opportunities for people to unite their strengths, and politics that maximizes South Korea's potential ? that is the promise of 'Saeroun Seontaek.'"
Former lawmaker Geum stressed, "There are difficult tasks ahead, such as recruiting party members to complete the party establishment and achieving results in next year's general election," adding, "The greater the difficulty, the greater the reward."
The founding promoters' meeting was attended by former People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min, Korean Hope representative Yang Hyang-ja, Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong, and others as guests.
Yang Hyang-ja, representative of Korean Hope, said in her congratulatory speech, "Let's restore the lost politics."
Representative Yang emphasized, "The parties that the people want are four types: 'cooperative parties, unified parties, visionary parties, and future-oriented parties,'" adding, "A party that restores politics, unites the people, presents a vision, and leads the country to the future."
She said, "I believe 'Saeroun Seontaek' will become such a party. I also believe 'Korean Hope' will become such a party," adding, "Sometimes competing, sometimes cooperating, let's turn politics mired in despair into hope." She continued, "Let's normalize the politics that the People Power Party and the Democratic Party have alternately ruined," and added, "Let's start the creative destruction of South Korean politics."
Saeroun Seontaek announced its intention to establish the party by holding the 1st Reflection and Exploration Forum at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on April 18, and has been deciding policies and directions through several forums and discussions while preparing for the founding promoters' meeting.
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