Kim Du-gwan Announces Presidential Bid at Press Conference on the 7th
"I Will Gladly Accept a Two-Year Shortened Term"
Proposes Open Primary... "Like a Celebration"
Former lawmaker Kim Du-gwan of the Democratic Party of Korea declared his candidacy for the early presidential election, stating, "I will become the constitutional president who opens the 7th Republic." He took a firm stance against Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's remark to postpone constitutional amendments for power structure reform until after the presidential election, saying, "I do not agree."
On the 7th, at the Democratic Party member zone in Yeouido, Seoul, Kim held a press conference announcing his candidacy for the 21st presidential election, saying, "I have decided to run under the name of the constitutional president." He added, "If it means shortening the term by two years for the 7th Republic, I will gladly accept it," and emphasized, "We must amend the constitution to a decentralized four-year renewable term system for a great transformation and national reform of the Republic of Korea."
Regarding Lee's claim at the Supreme Council meeting that power structure reform should be handled after the presidential election due to lack of time, Kim said, "I do not agree." He recalled, "Looking back 38 years ago, the ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement within four months, passed a national referendum in October, and completed the amendment in four months." He continued, "Although there is less time compared to then because the party focused on suppressing internal rebellion, I believe the power structure proposed by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik as a one-point amendment, with specific provisions to be addressed in the local elections next June, is reasonable."
He also said, "The imprisonment of four presidents is not entirely due to the presidential system, but I believe it is not unrelated to the system." He added, "(Citizens) will likely see that relying on a single presidential leadership is not feasible." He further stated, "Especially when an unprepared president takes office, it causes more chaos," and added, "Even a prepared president like Kim Dae-jung faced difficulties in national management, and in the case of impeached former President Yoon Seok-youl, neither the person nor the vision was prepared." He emphasized that a two-top system with a president and prime minister is desirable.
Regarding the primary election method, he proposed a fully open primary system. Kim said, "I propose a fully open primary where all forces opposing martial law and agreeing with impeachment participate," adding, "The presidential candidate elected through this will overwhelmingly become the 21st president, suppress the Cold War far-right forces, and achieve political reform."
Kim stated, "When we attract public interest through the open primary, we can guarantee the Democratic Party's victory in the presidential election, so I plan to request this from the secretary-general and the election commission," and added, "If Lee Jae-myung resigns, floor leader Park Chan-dae will likely take over, and I will propose holding the primary like a celebration."
Although there is talk of the so-called 'Eodaemyeong' (meaning 'Anyway, the president will be Lee Daemyung'), Kim emphasized that he will lead the presidential election based on centrist expansion. He said, "What I see as a significant warning to the Democratic Party recently is that a candidate from the Joguk Innovation Party won the by-election for the mayor of Damyang County, Jeonnam," and added, "For our party to win, we need to build a broader coalition, alliance, and a strong scrum."
In addition, Kim promised ▲economic recovery ▲restoration of diplomacy ▲investment in science and technology ▲comprehensive education reform ▲and federal-level decentralization.
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