All Pro-Democracy Forces Must Unite
for a Definite Regime Change
"A primary election that appears to endorse a specific (presidential) candidate must never happen."
Kim Du-gwan, a former member of the Democratic Party of Korea and considered a 'potential opposition presidential candidate,' targeted party leader Lee Jae-myung on the 14th regarding the early presidential election, stating, "Various presidential candidates are assets and competitiveness of the party."
Yonhap News reported the remarks made by former lawmaker Kim, who serves as chairman of the think tank 'Next Korea Forum,' at the forum's launch ceremony held in Yeouido, Seoul, on the same day.
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Du-gwan is giving a greeting speech at the Busan regional book launch event for his autobiography "There Was No Flower Road," held at the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News
Kim began by saying, "After the impeachment motion against Yoon Seok-youl was passed in the National Assembly on December 14 last year, I did not doubt the birth of a new democratic government centered on the democratic camp to judge the pro-coup reactionary forces."
He continued, "However, trust is wavering. The Democratic Party leadership must alleviate this anxiety," adding, "The way to resolve this anxiety is to implement a 'anti-coup democratic grand coalition.' For a definite regime change, all pro-democracy forces, excluding those who sympathize with the coup, must unite."
Kim emphasized again, "Various presidential candidates should create a drama of unity, not division, through a free and fair primary election," and "To do so, the primary election rules must be fair, and a primary culture that recognizes diverse voices must be established. A primary that appears to endorse a specific candidate must never happen."
He further explained, "Silencing voices is a shortcut to division and defeat," and added, "We must also pursue alliances and grand coalitions, including the Party for National Innovation and the Reform Party."
Regarding constitutional amendments, he said, "Even if time is tight, we must simultaneously pursue the judgment of pro-coup reactionary forces and constitutional reform," and "To stop confrontational politics and the history of unhappy presidents, we must amend the constitution to a decentralized four-year two-term system that divides the presidential powers with the cabinet and the National Assembly, or a responsible prime minister system that shares presidential powers with the prime minister."
He added, "We must change the winner-takes-all single-member district system to a multi-member district system, transforming the two-party system of adversarial symbiosis into a multi-party system," and "Constitutional amendments should promote decentralization and balanced development."
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